Trinidad and Tobago emerged victorious in the battle between two Caribbean rugby arch rivals. Played in warm conditions on a good rugby surface before a partisan and vocal home crowd, T&T got off to a good start, dominating territory for the first 20 minutes. However, failure to convert that dominance into points proved costly as it was Bermuda who grabbed a seven-nil lead on 21 minutes with a try by blind side flanker Andrew Hook and a conversion by Eoghan O'Dwyer.

FORWARD CHARGE: Trinidad and Tobago winger Mark Hamilton, left, breaks a tackle from a Bermuda player on Saturday as he goes on to score his second try at the UWI Spec ground, St Augustine. T&T won 32-17.

Two minutes later, ill discipline at the breakdown resulted in a penalty conversion by T&T centre Don Rojas Jnr which trimmed the Bermuda lead to 7-3.

In the 25th, T&T took the lead 10-7 following a try out wide by winger Mark Hamilton who was making a return to international duty following a three year hiatus. Rojas converted.

Hamilton and Rojas again combined in the 27th to increase the Calypso Warriors' margin to 17-7. An unconverted 34th minute try by open side winger Andre Cabera made it 22-7. At this point, the home supporters would have felt that a runaway win was on the cards.

Bermuda, however, in no way intimidated by the pro-T&T support, had different ideas. Their physical forward-oriented style of play was rewarded when a Jack Ellison try and O'Dwyer's second conversion just on the half-time whistle, cut the T&T lead to 22-14.

Nine minutes after the resumption, Bermuda continued their uncompromising pattern of play and had their hosts on the rack when an unconverted David Potter try cut the T&T lead to three points (22-19).

The visitors forced T&T into a number of fundamental errors. However, determined defence by the home team saw an unchanged scoreboard.

Bermuda played with urgency and intensity at set scrums and the collision point but lost invaluable momentum as a result of infractions; one resulting penalty proving decisive when Rojas stepped up and banged over the conversion to give T&T breathing space at 25-19.

With tempers rising, referee Larry Mendez was busy on his whistle. But T&T were not to be denied as their attacking backline made telling line breaks, putting the issue beyond doubt in the 72nd minute as Cabera's second try and another Rojas conversion made it 32-19.

Bermuda, none too happy with the referee at the final whistle, would have taken away a lot of positives from the hard-fought encounter .

T&T on the other hand showed their mettle and character but would be the first to admit that there is work to be done with the chasing pack determined to knock the Caribbean 15s title from their hands.

Commenting after the match, T&T manager and TTRFU chairman of selectors Curtis Nero expressed pride in the resilience shown by the players. He also commended Bermuda for a gutsy display.

"I found the guys stuck to their task. Bermuda was very physical and confrontational across the park. It tested our mental toughness, composure, skill set, structure and decision making under pressure. Good game. It will serve us well."

Nero confirmed that Adam Fredericks was unavailable for the game as he is out of the country.

Teams

T&T:

15 Kelson Figaro 14 Andre Cabera 13 Dexter Snaggs(O'Connor) 12 Don Rojas Jnr 11 Mark Hamilton 10 Brendan O'Farrell 9 Bernard Yet Ming 8 Dale Trotman 7 Graeme Alkins 6 Wayne Kelly(Kurt Quashie) 5 Jason Clark(Lara) 4 Peter Bacchus(captain) 3 Brian Rajkumar(Roberts)2 Felician Guerra 1 Kirk Quashie

Subs: 16 Miguel Lara 17 Kurt Quashie 18 Jonathan O'Connor 19 Samuel Roberts 20 Abdeel Giles 21 Kidane Silverthorn 22 Carlton Felix

SCORERS: Cons: Rojas (3) Pens: Rojas (2) Tries: Hamilton (2) Cabera (2)

Bermuda:

15 David Porter 14 Neville Zuill 13 Darragh O'Donogue 12 Seamus MacLoughlin 11 Steven Husbands 10 Chris Naylor 9 Tom Edwards 8 Peter Dunkerley 7 Kris Fubert 6 Andrew Hook 5 Scott Brown 4 David Rouke 3 Brian Desmond 2 Ryan Sommerville 1 Paul Robinson

Subs: 16 Iain Simpson 17 Bill Mc Niven 18 Thomas Greenslade 20 Mark Pomeroy 21 Eoghan O'Dwyer 22 Jack Ellison

SCORERS: Tries: Ellison, Porter, Hook Cons O'Dwyer (2)

Source: Trinidad Express