Bajan men off to good start
Barbados captain Sean Ward (left) kept close watch as Dominic Oliveira of Dead Pelican snatch possession mid air away from teammate John-Shane Howard.
Forward Mikyle Walcott (with ball) escaped team Atlantis defense and scored for Barbados.
JetBlue Barbados Men’s Rugby team got off to a flying start with two wins out of three matches on the opening day of the 2019 Rugby Barbados World 7s Tournament played at Kensington Oval.
Led by captain Sean Ward and coached by Joe Whipple, team Barbados impressed 27-7 in their first encounter this morning against St. Lucia and returned in the afternoon with another solid 36-5 performance against Dead Pelicans from North California.
However, they were unable to finish the day undefeated having lost 19-7 to Atlantis out of Philadelphia in their final encounter.
Ward, one of Barbados’ most experience forwards said he was pleased with how the team performed and was confident they would do well in the tournament.
He said while Barbados did not play enough against tough opposition, he was happy so far with how the team had played.
“Today we built. Every game is a step up, so that is a great positive from the guys who are not into this every weekend out. This last
game [Atlantis] was a big learning curve, we had some stuff we needed to figure out there and then quickly make adjustments. We made those adjustments in the second half and dominated in defence but sometimes it’s a bit too late, but we still had a great performance and the guys will keep their heads up for day two,” Ward said.
Against St. Lucia Walcott scored a try for Barbados which set the momentum for how things evolved as the host swent on to lead 10-7 at halftime. There were two yellow cards in the first half and one of those went to John- Shane Howard of Barbados.
Walcott with exceptional speed scored to start the second half and 17-year-old D’Andre Phillips accounted for the conversion scored in the 10th minute. John Howard accounted for a try in the 12th minute and veteran Dario Stoute who has the potential to play up front or in the back scored a try and earned Barbados a well-deserved victory.
In the second match against Dead Pelicans, Barbados failed to capitalise on several conversions offered but did not appear too bothered having had a good 22-0 lead at
halftime. It was no surprise when they ended victoriously by a massive 31 points.
Against Atlantis which was the real test, Barbados were down 12-0 at halftime and lost by 12-points 19-7 thanks to the efforts of Mitch Vannoy along with fellow forward Corey Jones who scored the first try and also was responsible for the last.
The day was affected by intermittent showers, but Ward noted that team Barbados was not heavily impacted considering the balls, which are new held grip and the outfield at the Oval drained quickly.
Unlike the St. Lucian squad, the players from Dead Pelicans and Atlantis were much bigger and posed a greater threat defensively for Barbados, especially the latter side.
Each game comprised 14 minutes, seven minutes a half, with two-minute breaks given at halftime.
Barbados’ forwards Ward, Enrique Oxley, Sean Ward, John Howard, Simeon John forwards, David Burke all showed great speed and physicality against their oppositions.
Meanwhile, at the back, seasoned players Dario Stoute and Mikyle Walcott led by example and received good support from Nickoile Bonnett, D’Andre Phillips, Noah Paskin, Lucas Brathwaite and Kristopher Carrington.
Play will commence from 9:30 a.m. on the final day tomorrow and Barbados will play Roots Rugby Men at 11:30 a.m. and at 1:30 p.m. Trinidad and Tobago Defence Force. morissalindsay@barbadostoday.bb
Led by captain Sean Ward and coached by Joe Whipple, team Barbados impressed 27-7 in their first encounter this morning against St. Lucia and returned in the afternoon with another solid 36-5 performance against Dead Pelicans from North California.
However, they were unable to finish the day undefeated having lost 19-7 to Atlantis out of Philadelphia in their final encounter.
Ward, one of Barbados’ most experience forwards said he was pleased with how the team performed and was confident they would do well in the tournament.
He said while Barbados did not play enough against tough opposition, he was happy so far with how the team had played.
“Today we built. Every game is a step up, so that is a great positive from the guys who are not into this every weekend out. This last
game [Atlantis] was a big learning curve, we had some stuff we needed to figure out there and then quickly make adjustments. We made those adjustments in the second half and dominated in defence but sometimes it’s a bit too late, but we still had a great performance and the guys will keep their heads up for day two,” Ward said.
Against St. Lucia Walcott scored a try for Barbados which set the momentum for how things evolved as the host swent on to lead 10-7 at halftime. There were two yellow cards in the first half and one of those went to John- Shane Howard of Barbados.
Walcott with exceptional speed scored to start the second half and 17-year-old D’Andre Phillips accounted for the conversion scored in the 10th minute. John Howard accounted for a try in the 12th minute and veteran Dario Stoute who has the potential to play up front or in the back scored a try and earned Barbados a well-deserved victory.
In the second match against Dead Pelicans, Barbados failed to capitalise on several conversions offered but did not appear too bothered having had a good 22-0 lead at
halftime. It was no surprise when they ended victoriously by a massive 31 points.
Against Atlantis which was the real test, Barbados were down 12-0 at halftime and lost by 12-points 19-7 thanks to the efforts of Mitch Vannoy along with fellow forward Corey Jones who scored the first try and also was responsible for the last.
The day was affected by intermittent showers, but Ward noted that team Barbados was not heavily impacted considering the balls, which are new held grip and the outfield at the Oval drained quickly.
Unlike the St. Lucian squad, the players from Dead Pelicans and Atlantis were much bigger and posed a greater threat defensively for Barbados, especially the latter side.
Each game comprised 14 minutes, seven minutes a half, with two-minute breaks given at halftime.
Barbados’ forwards Ward, Enrique Oxley, Sean Ward, John Howard, Simeon John forwards, David Burke all showed great speed and physicality against their oppositions.
Meanwhile, at the back, seasoned players Dario Stoute and Mikyle Walcott led by example and received good support from Nickoile Bonnett, D’Andre Phillips, Noah Paskin, Lucas Brathwaite and Kristopher Carrington.
Play will commence from 9:30 a.m. on the final day tomorrow and Barbados will play Roots Rugby Men at 11:30 a.m. and at 1:30 p.m. Trinidad and Tobago Defence Force. morissalindsay@barbadostoday.bb