THE Trinidad and Tobago men’s and women’s teams clinched bronze medals in the 2025 RAN Sevens tournament at the Larry Gomes Stadium in Malabar on November 23.
TT’s senior men beat Bermuda 29-5, while the women’s team shut out their Bermudian counterparts 27-0 in the bronze medal matches.
The men’s team earned qualification for the 2026 Caribbean American and Caribbean (CAC) Games, while the women missed out.
TT will host the tournament again in 2026, their final year of a three-year allocation.
On November 23, after losing out to Canada in the semifinals, TT took out their frustrations on Bermuda to claim the bronze medal and a place in the CAC Games.
Jonathan Taylor led the way with a hat-trick, while Ruairi O’Farrell and Agboola Silverthorn dotted down for individual scores.
O’Farrell drilled in two conversions to help TT take the bronze medal.
TT took the silver medal in 2024, losing to Canada 38-0 in the finals.
Again, this year, the Canadians were formidable, turning aside TT 44-0 in the semifinals.
The Maple Leafs went on to blow out Barbados 31-0 in the final, taking their second straight RAN Seven’s title in Trinidad.
TT women finished third after the Round Robin phase of the tournament and faced Bermuda in the third-place playoff.
They ruthlessly turned aside the Bermudians, with Fayola Jack leading the way with two tries.
Kalena Burke, Alyssa Fields, and Chaneisha John also expertly finished off moves on their way to a dominant 27-0 victory.
Mexico claimed their second straight title, beating Jamaica 20-17 in a repeat of the 2024 finals.
The Mexican women also defeated the Jamaican women in 2024, winning 19-12.
Chad Simeon, the Treasurer of the TT Rugby Union (TTRU), said the tournament was a very successful one for the home teams.
“We came into the tournament hoping to qualify for the CAC Games. The senior men, thankfully, achieved that,” he said.
“Unfortunately, the women fell short, but we are proud of their accomplishments. They worked hard and secured bronze for the second year running,” he added.
Simeon said that the TTRU would be fully in support of the senior men’s team in their CAC Games campaign.
The TTRFU executive member said the TTRU learnt a lot from their 2024 experience and has larger ambitions for TT as a rugby destination.
“It’s the second of three years; we are hosting again in 2026. We learnt from last year’s experiences and we continue to build on it,” he said.
“We hope to make TT a tourist destination for rugby, and we have worked towards that,” Simeon added.
The 2025 RAN Sevens featured 20 teams from 14 countries, with the tournament expanded to three days.
Tournament winners Canada and Mexico advanced to the SVNS qualification pathway, while the top three regional finishers earned spots to the 2026 CAC Games in the Dominican Republic.
All matches were streamed live on RugbyPass TV, which allowed global audiences to view the tournament.
TT senior men’s rugby team, beat Bermuda 29-5, on November 23, during their match at the 2025 RAN Sevens tournament at the Larry Gomes Stadium in Malabar. The team qualified for the 2026 Caribbean American and Caribbean Games. – Photo courtesy RAN
Source: newsday.co.tt
