Stag Trinidad Northern and Harvard Sports Club will face off in the wildly anticipated Marcus Minshall Cup final on Saturday at either the Larry Gomes Stadium or the Hasely Crawford Stadium. The T&T Rugby Football Union has been trying to book the Hasely Crawford Stadium and the event's final location will be revealed today.
Harvard will be making its first ever appearance in the Marcus Minshall Cup, having got there by the default route after Police Sports Club could not field a full team in the semifinal.Trinidad Northern took the hard route to the final, first battling Cup holders and arch rivals Caribs to a hard fought 5-5 stalemate in the first semifinal.
In the replay at Presidents Ground in St Ann's last Saturday, Northern edged Caribs 15-13 in a physical and contentious replay.
The fact that Northern also took the Bruno Browne Cup is conclusive proof of their big game mindset, indomitable will and championship mettle.Harvard and Stag Trinidad Northern met twice before in this year's rugby season. Their two Toyota Championship battles were won by Trinidad Northern.The Marcus Minshall Cup is local rugby's equivalent of football's coveted and prestigious FA Cup and as in football, lifting the Cup on Cup Final Day is a cherished ambition.
The FA Cup is rooted in romance as "the Davids take on the Goliaths" with the aspiration of staging unlikely upsets.Rugby is no exception, and Cup Final Day has retained its allure over the years. However, since its first incarnation in 1969, the Marcus Minshall Cup has never been kind to underdogs. The giants of local rugby dominate its honour roll. Trinidad Northern first lifted the coveted cup in 1972 and most recently in 2003 and 2007.
Caribs RFC have lifted the Cup on more than 20 occasions. Defence Force, Roebucks and Royalians are the other teams who have tasted Marcus Minshall glory.In 1997, GF Utd (amalgam of Guevaras and Falcons RFC) played Caribs in the final. losing 33-3. In 1998 GF merged into the Harvard Club to become the established national sporting institution's rugby section.
About the Cup
Marcus Minshall was called "The Sheriff". He would arrive back home from representing T&T at cricket and head out immediately to don T&T colours in rugby. For him every game was an event and a special occasion. As a rugby player, Minshall played every position. As a captain he demanded excellence from himself and his team, given the special nature of a Cup final and the fact that it is not just about the 80 minutes of rugby but what the final represents.
On Saturday Trinidad Northern will emerge from their dressing room confident that their rich vein of recent form and history rests firmly in their favour.