RAN Champioinship Returns; USA South Fields Two Teams
RAN Champioinship Returns; USA South Fields Two Teams
Kingston, Jamaica — The 2022 Rugby Americas North (RAN) will launch its 2022 Women’s 12s and Men’s Under-19s tournaments to be held July 14-17 in the Jamaican capital.
The four-day event, which will be held at the University of the West Indies, marks the first time it’s been held since 2019 in Bridgetown, Barbados; the hiatus was due to the COVID-19 global pandemic
Women Tournament Expands
The women's tournament has switched from 10-a-side to 12-a-side thanks to great depth within the teams that are competing and provides a better elite pathway into major 15-a-side competition. Heading into its fifth year, the Women’s tournament will take place over July 15 and 16 and will include six teams: Jamaica, USA South Panthers, St. Lucia, Dominican Republic, Trinidad & Tobago, and the Cayman Islands.
Friday will see each team play two 30-minute matches, before being reseeded for the second day of competition on Saturday. The top four teams after day one will square off on Saturday in the semifinals with the winners advancing to the championship final and the two losing teams playing a game each against one of the third place finishers from day one. The two third-place finishers from each pool will also play each other on Saturday, providing each team with four matches across Friday and Saturday.
Due to the upcoming World Rugby Challenger Series, 2019 tournament winners Mexico will not be competing in the event in July. Therefore, hosts Jamaica – who were runners up at Bellevue Plantation in Barbados in 2019 – enter the tournament as the top-ranked side.
In its 18th year running, the Men’s U19 tournament will also include six teams: Mexico, USA South Panthers, Trinidad & Tobago, Bermuda, Cayman Islands and Jamaica. The competition will include match days on the 14th and 15th where the teams will play two 40-minute games. After a rest day on Saturday, the finals on Sunday will see the six teams play one match of two 35-minute halves.
“After a long period of in-activity due to the COVID Pandemic, RAN are thrilled to host the Senior Women’s 12s and Men’s 15-a-side U19s once again," said Rugby Americas North General Manager Niall Brooks. "Both competitions are important tools in the promotion, growth, and development of rugby in the region. For the Women’s game, RAN’s focus is on developing a pathway that will assist the regions teams to compete not only locally amongst each other, but to also play outside of the region and to enable teams to climb further up World Rugby’s rankings. The U19s competition enables the future generation of senior rugby players, the opportunity of playing against different opponents and styles of rugby in a continuation of their rugby development."
RAN Women's 12-a-side Pools and Schedule
Pool A:
Jamaica
Dominican Republic Trinidad & Tobago
Pool B:
USA South
St. Lucia Cayman Islands
Friday July 15
9:40 am - Jamaica v Trinidad & Tobago
10:20 am – USA South v Cayman Islands
12:40 pm – Dominican Republic v Trinidad & Tobago
1:20 pm – St. Lucia v Cayman Islands
3:40 pm – Jamaica v Dominican Republic
4:20 pm – USA South v St. Lucia
Saturday July 16
Match 1: 10:00 am – 1st Pool A v 2nd Pool B
Match 2: 10:50 am – 1St Pool B v 2nd Pool A
Match3: 11:40 pm – 3rd PoolAv3rd Pool B
Match 4: 3:00 pm – Loser Match 1 v Loser Match 3
Match 5: 3:50 pm – Loser Match 2 v Winner Match 3
Match 6: 4:40 pm – Winner Match 1 v Winner Match 2 – Championship Final
Men's U19s Returns
The RAN 2022 Men's U19s is comprised of six teams: top-seed Mexico, USA South, Trinidad & Tobago, Bermuda, Cayman Islands, and Jamaica.
This competition has traditionally been an intense battle between USA South and Mexico for the top spot. Mexico is the #1 seed.
The USA South team draws players from all over the South (either they are originally from the South or play for a team in the South), with a heavy representation, this year, by the Okapi Wanderers in Florida.
The USA South teams will are assembling in Miami today, July 11, before moving on to Jamaica. They will train together for a couple of days before starting the tournament (which will, apparently, be live-streamed).
"We are excited about the player selections for this event," said John Watson, who manages the South team. "We've assembled quality talent for this tournament. Our goal will be to improve from one session to the next from one match to the next from one day to the next. Ultimately, we desire to peak in the finals on Sunday."
The USA South Panther program is an official National Development Program, and, said Watson, "this is a great opportunity for these young players to showcase their talent at an international level and test their skills."
The youngest player is Gavin Hooten, out of Cardinal Gibbons HS in Florida—he just turned 16. Five of the players currently play in college:
| USA South Men's U19s | |||
| First Name | Last Name | Current Team | Home State |
| Hailama | Anakalea | Lindenwood University | Hawaii |
| Mathew | Arteta | Okapi Wanderers | Florida |
| Cade | Austin | LSU | Louisiana |
| Grayden | Bleau | Sumner County | Tennessee |
| Luis | Cruzado | Okapi Wanderers | Florida |
| Connor | Devos | Lindenwood University | Texas |
| Nicholas | Devoti | SLU HS | Missouri |
| Matthew | Galardi | Boca Raton Buccaneers | Florida |
| Gavin | Hooten | Cardinal Gibbons HS | Florida |
| Christopher | Jensvold | University of Louisville | Indiana |
| Gibbs | Kell | Little Rock Jr. Stormers | Arkansas |
| Jack | Lake | Chaminade HS | Missouri |
| Keaton | McLeavy | Okapi Wanderers | Florida |
| Gozie | Mosi | Okapi Wanderers | Florida |
| Gyani | Mosi | Okapi Wanderers | Florida |
| Jaxson | Patterson | Boca Raton Buccaneers | Florida |
| Nicholas | Richards | University of Tennessee | Tennessee |
| Charlie Joe | Rosemeyer | Penn Hills | Tennessee |
| Jacob | Siler | Roswell Rebels | Georgia |
| Grant | Silkwood | University of Tennessee | Tennessee |
| Charles | Taylor | Greer 76ers | South Carolina |
| Jason | Trevino | Charlotte Cardinals | North Carolina |
| Quinn | Vorster | Wando Rugby | South Carolina |
| Nathan | Williams | Jesuit New Orleans | Louisiana |
Men's U19 Competition Pools and Schedule:
Pool A:
Mexico, Bermuda, Cayman Islands
Pool B:
USA South, Trinidad & Tobago, Jamaica
July 14
9:00 am - Pool A: Mexico v Cayman Islands
10:00 am - Pool B: USA South v Jamaica
12:30 pm - Pool A: Bermuda v Mexico
1:30 pm - Pool B: Trinidad & Tobago v USA South
4:00 pm - Pool A: Cayman Islands v Bermuda
5:00 pm - Pool B: Jamaica v Trinidad & Tobago
July 15
8:00 am - 1st Pool A v 3rd Pool B
8:50 am - 1st Pool B v 3rd Pool A
11;00 am - U19s: 2nd Pool B v 3rd Pool B
11:50 am - U19s: 2nd Pool A v 3rd Pool A
2:00 pm - U19s: 1st Pool A v 2nd Pool B
2.50 pm - U19s: 1st Pool B v 2nd Pool A
July 17
12:00 am - 3rd Pool 1 v 3rd Pool 2
1:30 pm - 2nd Pool 1 v 2nd Pool 2 – Bronze Medal Final
3:00 pm - 1st Pool 1 v 1st Pool 2 – Championship Final
