Scrum time! Digicel Barbarians and Heineken Arawaks lock horns.
Photo Credit: Gordon French/BVI Platinum News
Scrum time! Digicel Barbarians and Heineken Arawaks lock horns.
Photo Credit: Gordon French/BVI Platinum News
A score line of 12-7 from 12 years ago was the margin of victory for the Digicel Barbarians who relied on experience to punish the Heineken Arawaks in the second half during a bruising 15-a-side rugby game at the A. O Shirley Recreation Ground last Friday, June 29.
It was the first time in over a decade that a competitive 15s game was played between local teams in the BVI. According to the BVI Football Rugby Union, the last game was played in 2000 and ended 12-7 with the underdog Presidents taking the win over a heavily favored Captains side.
On Friday, the underdogs were the Arawaks, a club formed about a year ago and which was seeking to whip the fearsome Barbarians, a select team of mostly veterans, including the visiting Peter `Fats' Fatialofa, who Captained Samoa when they beat Wales in the 1991 World Cup.
From the opening whistle of the game, Arawaks controlled the momentum and broke the scoreless bond when Andre Adams received a pass from his captain Donovan Staples and powered over the plane of the goal line to give the Arawaks a 5-0 lead.
Marc Sorrentino then scored a conversion goal to give Arawaks a 7-0 lead going into the first half. The second half of the game started with expectations that the younger Arawaks would out-sprint the Barbarians, but this was not the case as the Barbarians forwards established authority.
With the Barbarians forwards receiving much needed attention, the ball was on the left wing, which saw Dustin Molver scamper for useful yards before he handed off to a wide open Frank McGing on the outside for an easy walk-in score.
The Barbarians failed to convert and continued to trail in the game until Fatialofa, who had been inserted in the second half because he could not resist being on the bench, dipped his shoulder to push pass surging defenders to score on the right wing.
Jon Draper picked up the conversion points to give Barbarians the game winning score of 12-7. Arawaks had their opportunities, but could not capitalize as they evidently broke away from their game plan on wide-out plays.
"We just wanted to make sure that we had a bit more fitness and try to compete as strong as we could up front and hopefully they would get tired and we would find some holes in their defence, which eventually came. They played good right through to the end so it was very hard fought game," said Heath Copeland who captained the Barbarians.
He said in the first half, his team was a bit rusty, dropping a few more balls that they should have possibly caught, but by the second half the passes were sticking.
"Going forward, we will need to work on fitness big time because both teams were getting tired at the end. There were a lot of unforced errors out there so we will need to work on the basics. It was good to finally be up to about 35 men who can compete. We need to get the younger players out because the game was built for them," Copeland stated.
Staples told BVI Platinum News that he knew his team had made multiple mistakes that cost them the game, but he said his team will win the next game.
The Digicel Barbarians pose with Governor Boyd McCleary (far right) and the visiting Peter ‘Fats' Fatialofa, who Captained Samoa when they beat Wales in the 1991 World Cup.
Photo Credit: Gordon French/BVI Platinum News
The Digicel Barbarians pose with Governor Boyd McCleary (far right) and the visiting Peter ‘Fats' Fatialofa, who Captained Samoa when they beat Wales in the 1991 World Cup.
Photo Credit: Gordon French/BVI Platinum News
"We need to work on gelling together. We have only been formed for a year and we have a lot of new guys who came in to join the club. The more practice we get together we will be able to improve on our communication and be in a better position to win the game," Staples stated.
After scoring the winning try, Fatialofa told BVI Platinum News that he used his acquired skills to get past the defenders.
"I knew what I had to do once I saw the field open up on the wing. I went very low with my shoulder to meet the defenders," Fatialofa stated.
He said he enjoyed his stay on the island as he also got the opportunity to work with youth players.
The game was seen as an important step to getting four teams on the island which will enable the BVI to apply for full IRB membership.
