By this weekend the T&T rugby team will know if it will travel to the Cayman Islands for its third match of the Rugby American North Men’s 15s Championship.
The team’s travel has been in jeopardy due to the T&T Rugby Football Union’s failure to secure funding from the Government through the Ministry of Sports and Youth Affairs. But yesterday Colin Peters, the TTRFU president said his union had a meeting with Minister of Sports Shamfa Cudjoe and Director of Sports at the ministry’s St Clair office, on Wednesday, which he described as fruitful.
“The meeting went very well and we were told that we will be given an answer by this weekend,” Peters told Guardian Media Sports. The team is in need of $210,000 to cover airfare and accommodation. Peters said the overall cost was actually $360,000 but his union was able to raise $150,000 to help with the burden.
The T&T rugby men are well on their way to claiming the top spot in the group after whipping Bermuda in their first game at St Anthony’s College Ground in West moorings and then the USA South in their second at St Mary’s College Ground last weekend. They were scheduled to face the Cayman Islands in their third and final match this weekend but it was postponed.
Peters said this game will now be played either at the end of July or in August since they were told by the travelling agency that flights for most of July have already been booked. Peters said his team received a grace period only because his union took in front and informed its financial position to the Rugby American North Men’s 15s Championship ahead of the Cayman Islands clash.
“We were given some time to secure the funding for the match, but we were told that we cannot take too long,” Peters said.
The TT men have an unblemished record in its group to date and need only a victory against the Cayman Islands to earn the right to face either Mexico or Guyana, for a chance to be included in the American Rugby Challenge next year. This Challenge will comprise South American nations Colombia and Paraguay.
WALTER ALIBEY
