Despite playing at altitude (7,500ft), the men’s national 7s side recorded their greatest tournament result to date, coming third and picking up the plate at the NACRA Sevens in Mexico City. Our women’s team, playing in their first ever international event, found the going tough with fitness being a major factor. However, they still recorded an historic first ever win, beating hosts Mexico on the opening day and planting the seeds for further development of our women’s game. We're all proud of you ladies.

However, the real story from our perspective was the men’s competition. Everyone at the event was aware of our two West Indies stars, Devon Woodside and (captain) Mico Cooper, but what they weren’t expecting was the strength of their ‘supporting cast’, all of whom gave everything they had throughout the two days of the event. The whole squad has a lot to be proud of.

Day 1 – Group Stage (13 countries in 3 groups)

Anybody who’s followed our performances in previous years will be aware that we tend to have trouble coming off the blocks and cannot seem to win our opening game.

Game 1 - a tricky fixture against Cayman who had a strong, young squad headed by another West Indies star, Josh Clarke. They were quicker off the mark, gaining the first try of the game, but the boys came back strong to score three tries, converted by the faultless boot of Kevin Salabie. In fact Kevin’s kicking was exemplary and played a major role throughout. Another late try sealed the game, although we allowed Cayman a last minute consolation in the corner. One moment of concern was an injury to Dan’s ankle which the physio (Chris Fox) felt would surely remove him from the competition. However, he’d forgotten that the Andros Assassin isn’t mortal and he played through pain in every match. Bahamas 26 – 12 Cayman.

Game 2 was against an unknown quantity, the powerful looking men of the Dominican Republic. However, they couldn’t keep up with our pace and we came away with a comfortable victory. Bahamas 21 – 7 Dominican Republic.

Game 3 – the big guns. Guyana, looking for their third successive regional title were justifiable favorites this time round. Indeed, they scored a total of 134 points in their opening four games. The Bahamians played them close but we had to concede defeat to the better team. Guyana 26 – 12 Bahamas.

Game 4 was against Guadeloupe who while quite impressive to look at, hadn’t had a great competition to this point, which meant we ran the risk of complacency which has often dogged our performances in the past. However, this was not to be and some fine rugby from our pace-men gave us a fairly convincing win. Bahamas 35 – 7 Guadeloupe.

Day 2 – Knock Out Stage

Then there were 8: Guyana, Trinidad, Jamaica, The Bahamas , Bermuda, Martinique, Cayman and Mexico. Our ¼ final game was against Jamaica who have traditionally given us problems. A win here would have made history as we’ve never been further in any major sevens event. As it was, it proved to be an extremely grueling and exciting match with both teams throwing everything they had into the ring. We looked like we’d won the game when early in the second half, and with most of the possession, we went up 17-5. However, a late score by Jamaica brought them back into the game. At 17-12, a monumental final push brought the game beyond question.  To compound Jamaica’s pain, they lost a very exciting bowl final to Cayman on a dying seconds drop goal. Bahamas 24 – 12 Jamaica.

So now we’re in the semi-finals and as fate would have it we’re playing Guyana again. I won’t say too much about this game, maybe the Jamaica game took its toll. But really, no excuses, no shame, they were better than us. Guyana 24 – 0 Bahamas.

The Plate Final was against Martinique, who had not lost a game up to their semi-final against Trinidad & Tobago.  They were another big side but also had some pace, which we felt could be cause for concern. However, this was the game in which our months of fitness training really paid off. We were in much better shape than they were physically and it showed from the onset. Andrew Bodie, who was a crowd favorite from the start of the tournament enjoyed some blistering moves around the outside and we came away with quite a comfortable win. Bahamas 28 – 10 Martinique.

NACRA 7s Plate Winners

The Final was between Guyana & Trinidad & Tobago, both teams unbeaten as yet. Although low-scoring, it proved to be a tense, worthy final with Guyana coming away with a 12 – 10 victory to claim their third successive title, as did the Guyana women’s team who also enjoyed an undefeated weekend.

Nobody who was there will soon forget the moment of elation when Mico stepped up to collect the plate - fantastic! From our perspective, this tournament was all about earning respect from the region and we feel that this was more than accomplished. So what’s next for regional sevens?  The top 4 teams in the event go on to the CAC Games in Guyana in July, so after a well-earned Christmas break, we’ll be going right back into it with our eyes firmly fixed on Guyana.

LET’S GO BAHAMAS!!!

Special thanks to Chris Fox who was our physiotherapist again and as usual was the hardest working person on the tour.

NACRA Sevens Results (Bahamas)

Day 1 – women

Head Coach: Dorian Roach

Bahamas 0 – 22 St. Lucia

Bahamas 0 – Guyana 45

Bahamas 17 – 12 Mexico

Bahamas 12 – 22 Cayman

Day 1 – men

Head Coach: Stephen Thompson

Bahamas 26 – 12 Cayman

Bahamas 21 – 7 Dominican Republic

Bahamas 12 – 26 Guyana

Bahamas 35 – 7 Guadeloupe

Day 2 – women

Bahamas 0 – 47 Guyana

Bahamas 5 – 10 Cayman

Bahamas 7 – 27 Mexico

Bahamas v. St. Lucia - no game (injuries to both teams).

Day 2 - Men

QF – Bahamas 24 – 12 Jamaica

SF – Bahamas 0 – 24 Guyana

Plate Final – Bahamas 28 – 10 Martinique

The Bahamas Girls team beat Mexico

Bahamas 17 - 16 Mexico (to confirm with ely yet)

The Bahamas Girls Team lose their first two games

Guyana Beat The Bahamas

Guyana 24 - 14 Bahamas

Bahamas Beat Dominican Republic

Bahamas 21 - 7 Dominican Republic