TEST RUGBY: NACRA Caribbean Championship

30.04.2011
Barbados v British Virgin Islands in Tortola (NACRA Caribbean Championship, South, R2)

Venue: A.O. Shirley Stadium, Road Town,

Referee:

British Virgin Islands secured a round 2 position by defeating St Vincent and Grenadines, 9 April. Image thanks to http://www.bvirugby.com

Preview
The two winning teams from round one meet in the British Virgin Islands. The winner joins Trinidad Tobago and Guyana in the round robin tournament that is the South Zone, round 3. The winner of the round robin plays in the grand final against the North Zone finalist.

‘Training has gone quite well but been disrupted by Examinations which has stopped several younger players coming into the squad. We have played BVI twice over the last two years in Barbados (non-test status) and they have been closely fought encounters with Barbados winning both - the squad hope to make it 3 out of 3 but know it is going to be a much tougher task in BVI’ Dennis Hargreaves (Head Coach).

‘In what is expected to be one of the biggest regional sporting events ever to be staged in the Virgin Islands, the BVI National Rugby Team will take on Barbados this Saturday April 30, 2011 at the A. O. Shirley Recreation Grounds, a Digicel press release stated.
Fresh from a resounding victory over St. Vincent and the Grenadines on 9 April, the local team, proudly sponsored by Digicel BVI, will now take on the Barbados team. It is anticipated that hundreds of spectators will turn out to see who will advance to the next round of the North American Caribbean Rugby Association (NACRA) Men’s 15’s Tournament.
“The BVI Rugby Football Union is very excited that the local team has made it to this stage in this tournament; this is a major step in the development of rugby in the British Virgin Islands and we look forward to winning this match,” stated coach Sherlock Solomon.
“The team is rearing to go and we invite everyone to come to the A. O. Shirley Grounds on Saturday to see us in action.”
According to CEO Alan Bates of major sponsors Digicel, his company is delighted to be associated with the BVI Rugby Football Union and support especially youth rugby development in these islands. He said this is an historical time for the sport in this territory and Digicel is more than pleased to partner with the Rugby Club and other sponsors to host this tournament here.
“Digicel congratulates the BVI Team on its resounding victory over St. Vincent and the Grenadines earlier this month and we look forward to this weekend’s event, where we will be rolling out the ‘red carpet’ for Team Barbados, who incidentally is sponsored by our counterparts, Digicel Barbados,” Mr. Bates said. “So, this is expected to be some great fun among rival teams from the Caribbean and in this case also among two Digicel markets.”
Saturday’s event begins at 3pm with a BVI Youth Rugby Exhibition Game. The VI vs Barbados game begins at 4pm. The winner goes on to a round robin competition with Trinidad, Tobago and Guyana, which is the South Region NACRA Men’s 15’s Championship.
Everyone is invited to the A. O. Shirley Recreation Grounds on Saturday for the big rugby games, starting at 3pm.’

From http://preview.bviplatinum.com    Apparently this article appeared for a short time only.

Other previews

http://preview.bviplatinum.com/news.php?module=news&page=Article&articleID=1303481331

Previous Encounters
A Barbados Select XV defeated British Virgin Islands 26-17 last May in Bridgetown. The only other results I have is Barbados winning 10-0 back in 1996.

GWC Rugby Rankings
NACRA Table-Barbados 5th, British Virgin Islands 8th

IRB Ranking Points do not apply

Prediction: Barbados by 10 points

Teams

Barbados Squad
Nico Blunt (Scorpions RFC) *
Jae Bowen (Trident RFC)
Jathaniel Brathwaite (Scorpions RFC)
Harold Bynoe (Trident RFC)
Omar Bynoe (Trident RFC)
Stuart Copeland (Scorpions RFC)
Rondel Cumberbatch (Emperors RFC)*
Murray Dow (Scorpions RFC)
Raj Edwards (Scorpions RFC)
Neil Forde (Scorpions RFC)
Mario Holder (Emperors RFC)
Ramon Gibson (Trident RFC)
Jamal Gonsalves (Scorpions RFC)
Che Goring (Scorpions RFC)*
Mario Holder (Emperors RFC)*
Leandro Jordan (Trident RFC)
Mark Leacock (Scorpions RFC)
Phil Mayers (Scorpions RFC)
Stephen Millar (Trident RFC)
Greg Moseley-Clarke (Renegades RFC)
Kevyn Murrel (Scorpions RFC)
Dario Stoute (Scorpions RFC)*
Sean Ward (Scorpions RFC)
Head Coach: Dennis Hargreaves

* Barbados U19 representatives

Not selected
Dwight Forde (injured), replaced by Mario Holder
Adon Rodgers (not released from army)
Kevin Carter (not able to travel due to exams)

British Virgin Islands Squad

Nicolas Recondo (Captain), Heath Copland (Vice Captain), Frank Kalama, Patrick Dennis, Clinton Hempel, Jonathon Bailey, Alex Davidson, Andrew Simmons, Andrae Adams, Marc Sorrentino, Okeito Brown, Thomas Chapman, Dustyn Molver, Donovan Staple, Franklyn Victor, Damion Brown, Roan Thornton, Simon Knight, Jeovan Thompson, Jerome Springette, Greg Boyd, Lester Hamer, Keroy Frank, Andy Woodruff and Shem Ellis.

Head Coach: Sherlock Solomon

http://www.vistandpoint.com/news/sports/6793-bvi-eager-to-meet-barbados-in-2011-nacra-tourney