NACRA U19 Championships Kick Off

The North American Caribbean Rugby Association U19 Championships kicked off this past weekend with four games on the slate. The tournament, played in Orlando, Florida, brings together eight teams from throughout the NACRA region for a week of games.

On Saturday there were two matches played. Followed by two more on Sunday. The winners of the matches move onto the Cup Semifinals while the losers drop into the Plate Competition.

Opening Round Results

Mexico 29 USA Rugby South B 8 – Tournament favorites Mexico get their campaign off to a good start with a solid win over USA South Red. The South side, made up of less experienced U19 players, hung in against the returning champs.

Barbados 43 Turks & Caicos 7 – Barbados pounded Turks & Caicos in their opening match of the tournament. They’ll face a much tougher test in the semifinals as they take on USA Rugby South Blue.

USA Rugby South Blue 24 Bermuda 0 – The more experienced of the two USA Rugby South teams blanked Bermuda on Sunday to move onto the Cup semis. It wasn’t as easy as the score suggest for the USA. South held a narrow 7-0 lead at the half, but were able to pull away in the second half.

Trinidad & Tobago 47 Cayman Islands 5 – Trinidad & Tobago lit up the scoreboard as they cruised to victory over Cayman Islands. They face off against the defending champs, Mexico, in the semifinals.

Upcoming NACRA U19 Championship Schedule

July 14th

Cup Semifinal – Mexico vs Trinidad & Tobago

Cup Semifinal – Barbados vs USA Rugby South Blue

July 15th

USA Rugby South Red vs Cayman Islands

Turks & Caicos vs Bermuda

July 17th-18th

Plate Final

Cup Final

Consolation matches