Rainbow Rugby men won their first Rugby Sevens title for the year at the weekend. The tournament played in their own backyard at the Marabella Recreation Ground, saw the return of its full complement of players in a bid to retain the title it won for many years.
In the final the southerners did not disappoint, defeating Caribs in the title match to lift the coveted trophy. The women equivalent of the 7s was won expectedly by Police, beating arch-rivals Defence Force in the final. Police coach Verne Ross, after a domestic season of total dominance, has been using the sevens tournaments to prepare for the Barbados Rugby Challenge later this year.
Yesterday Rainbow owner/manager Rudolph Jack said his team, in spite of claiming its first sevens title for the season, is still the best team in the country.
From the four tournaments hosted by the Youth Training Centre (YTC), the University of the West Indies (UWI), Rainbow and Police to date, the Rainbow's men have qualified for two finals before their success.
However, he believes that errors were committed by the key official in the YTC final which prevented his team from an outright victory.
"The referee did not adhere to the rules of the game, by disregarding the sound of the hooter which should have brought the game to an end when the ball went outside in the closing minutes of the match against Exiles," Jack explained.
The hooter is a sound of a horn which signals the game is approaching an end. Jack said when the hooter is sounded, the game ends anytime the ball goes off the pitch, or if there is any infringement thereafter.
Jack said the referee, although there were infringements as well as the ball going off the field after the hooter, he allowed the game to go on to enable Exiles to come back.
He believes his team will be unstoppable when it's at full-strength, starting with the Harvard Sevens at the weekend at St Mary's College Ground, St Clair.
