With a home 33-10 victory this afternoon Bermuda defeated Guadeloupe to win the 2019 Rugby Americas North (RAN) Championship. With it Bermuda are the champions of the Caribbean.
The home side were in control throughout. Bermuda started strongly to score two tries and establish an early 14-0 advantage. The lead would last for a very long time thanks to a delay in the match due to the ambulance at the ground departing to attend to medical needs elsewhere.
Following the lengthily break Guadeloupe would have their first scoring opportunity. The penalty attempt, though, was off the mark which saw the scores remaining 14-0 at the close of the opening half.
The second half began with Guadeloupe on top. This time the three point attempt would be successful. It was followed by an opportunistic interception which narrowed the scores to 14-10.
Suddenly Bermuda were in trouble though this would be eased with Guadeloupe being reduced to 14-men for ten minutes. Due to poor ball-handling skills there would not be points despite the one-man advantage.
Bermuda, though, did subsequently get it together. Pressure from the forwards resulted in a penalty try. It was swiftly followed by another try, this time from a quick-tapped penalty. The 28-10 lead would be added to with one final try as Bermuda celebrated a comprehensive victory to win the 2019 RAN Championship.