THE Saint Lucia Rugby Football Union (SLRFU) hosts its final tournament for 2016 today, dubbed “National Day Sevens” at the Gros Islet Playing Field.
According to the SLRFU, it has been a sensational year for rugby in Saint Lucia and the Union is ensuring to end the year on a high note. Local male and female teams will be going head to head for the chance to be the champions.
Here for the day’s activity will be a 12-member all-female team and three coaches from Guadeloupe, who will be competing against local sides.
Like previous tournaments, the male teams are expected to produce high intensity matches as each vies for the win. In 2015, VBCC Stingers male and female teams walked away as the overall champions of the National Day Tournament. Stinger’s close rival, Whiptail Warriors, is looking to graduate from second place this year.
SLRFU has made strides in providing opportunity for local competitions this year by hosting three local tournaments. This included the first ever beach rugby tournament held at the Vigie beach. These activities aimed to strengthen the four established clubs as well as encourage the development of new ones on the island.
For 2017, SLRFU will be focusing in introducing rugby to secondary schools and starting an under – 15 and 19 League.