Sunday, August 30, 2009

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Devon Woodside and West Indies lose in the semi-finals By SPORTS WRITER ~ For the Guardian: The Rugby West Indies (RWI) Select Sevens Team, of which Bahamians Devon Woodside and Duran Beadle are members, played into the semi-finals of the Abbotsford International Sevens in Vancouver, Canada, and was narrowly defeated 12-14 by the Canada Chairman's side. The team's loss was extra tough as the conversion that would have tied the game and sent it to overtime went through the uprights and was good but was ruled wide by the referee. The semi-finals started with Canada scoring a well manufactured try that went through numerous phases. They followed this try with a score through the middle when an interception effort by the Rugby West Indies team backfired. The Rugby West Indies were trailing 14-0 at the half but came back with an outstanding effort in the second half. Canada did not have possession outside of their territory for the entire second half. This constant pressure was finally rewarded when Hollis Green (St. Vincent and the Grenadines) and Captain Claudius Butts (Guyana), each ran in tries with a conversion from Luther Burrell (Jamaica and Leeds, UK) to bring the West Indies within two points of tying the game on the last play. Kenya defeated Canada 19-17 in the final to win the tournament. In earlier pool matches, the Rugby West Indies defeated the Young Bucks, 14-12, a sevens select side from Greater Vancouver, with Devon Woodside (Bahamas) and Hollis Green (St. Vincent and the Grenadines) scoring twice. Luther Burrell converted once. In the next game against Burnaby Lighthouse, the Rugby West Indies again spotted the opposition an early try. The Burnaby Lighthouse team was made up of Pacific Islanders and included a former Australian international and two members of Red Rock, the premier sevens side in Fiji. The Rugby West Indies picked up the effort in the second half and ran out to a 24-15 lead. Try scorers for the Rugby West Indies were Claudius Butts, Joshua Clarke (Cayman), Tom Healey (Bermuda) and Hollis Green, with two conversions by Tom Healey. After clinching a berth in the semi-final, the Rugby West Indies narrowly lost 17-19 to a well organized Old Puget Sound squad. After a back and forth affair, the Old Puget Sound squad, a top American sevens and fifteens club side, scored a late try to edge out the West Indies. Kevin McKenzie (Guyana and Bracknell, UK), Devon Woodside and Michael Wilson (Cayman), laid down tries for the Rugby West Indies with a conversion by Joshua Clarke. Coach Joe Whipple said that, "it was a good week for us. We had a three-day camp with four new faces getting the opportunity to contribute. During this time, we were very well treated by the organizers and I am sure the fellas will remember this trip. The tournament was very good. We were tested in every match. We used a full roster of players basically splitting the time amongst the 12 players." The West Indies Head Coach said, "the Canada loss was disappointing especially the way it occurred. However, you have to take a good feeling away that we can compete with the likes of Canada. We continue to make positive steps forward. The players are learning and growing. As a coach, you can't ask for more effort than that provided in the semi-finals. The team they played was well organized and many of the players came off of a 10-week intense program for the Rugby World Cup qualifiers." The players competing were Michael Wilson (Cayman), Adrian Griffiths (Jamaica), Andre Cabera (Trinidad & Tobago), Claudius Butts (Guyana), Hollis Green (St. Vincent & the Grenadines), Joshua Clarke (Cayman), Devon Woodside (Bahamas), Kevin McKenzie (Guyana), Duran Beadle (Bahamas), Luther Burrell (Jamaica and Leeds), Tom Healey (Bermuda) and Keron Campbell (Trinidad & Tobago). Rugby West Indies thanks all of their sponsors and supporters who helped make this tour possible and special thanks to Martin Varga who volunteered his own airfare to serve as Assistant Coach and Physio. Wednesday, August 5, 2009