Carib $75,000 for Rugby Sevens

They will be among 12 overseas men’s teams who will start arriving here on Wednesday and Thursday of next week for the competition.

And Trinidad Enthusiasts who have not competed in the tournament for the past six years will be in action this year.

The tournament is carded for December 3 and 4 at the St Mary’s College Grounds, Serpentine Road, St Clair and is being put on by the Trinidad Enthusiasts Rugby Football Club.

At yesterday’s launch at Carib’s Hospitality Suite at the Queen’s Park Oval, Carib Brewery’s Sponsorship and Events Officer Arlene Francis revealed the company’s $75,000 sponsorship of the event. This also includes promotion and advertisements.

Francis also announced that Carib will also give all profits from the bar during the two days of the tournament to the Trinidad Enthusiasts Club.

Carib Brewery’s sponsorship extends far beyond the sport as they have also given financial assistance to Caribs RFC and Stag Northerns, the top two teams in local rugby.

She also extends a welcoming hand to all the clubs and players who will be on hand for the competition.

This year’s competition will feature two new teams including a combined West Indies team which was put together for the first time at the recent regional and international rugby tourney in neighbouring Barbados. The regional team will be selected among the top teams in the Caribbean among them Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, Guyana and Barbados.

The regional team has also been invited to a tournament in Los Angeles, United States next year and will use the tournament as preparation.

The other new team is the Bearskins Grenedier Guards of the United Kingdom, said to comprise UK Armymen, while St Vincent and the Grenadines have also signalled their participation in the championship.

Among the women include Canada’s Yoemen, Canadian Rockies and Canadian Maple Leafs.

According to Ronald Boyack, the Trinidad Enthusiasts representative, the winning Trinidad and Tobago’s women team at the Caribbean championship, will also take part in the competition this year.

He said further that the men’s competition will comprise four groups of five teams which will play-off in a round robin competition tomorrow. About 40 matches will be contested on the opening day among the men and ten matches among the women.

Boyack said further, that the top two teams from each group will advance to the semi-finals and final day of competition on Sunday, while the bottom three will go into the Plate play-offs, which will also be run as a knock-out competition.