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CNMI makes semis of Rugby Sevens tourney
The CNMI Rugby Sevens Team’s Ben Jones Jr., right, tries to protect the ball from his defender during their game in the 2017 Heineken Guam Rugby Sevens held over the weekend at the University of Guam Calvo Field House in Mangilao. (Contributed Photo)
The CNMI Rugby Sevens Team made it to the Final Four of the 2017 Heineken Guam Rugby Sevens held over the weekend at the University of Guam Calvo Field House in Mangilao.
The squad, led by Northern Marianas Rugy Union president Stanley Iakopo and coached by Viliame Kaitabu, swept their first four games in the annual tournament last Saturday to advance to the semifinals.
In the semis, however, the CNMI lost to Flying Proas, which eventually ruled the competition after beating Guam Rugby Club Aiga in the championship game last Sunday. Iakopo and company, which lost two members in the semifinals due to red cards, played in the consolation match versus Southside and also dropped the battle for third place. Tournament organizers have yet to provide the official scores in each game and only turned in the final standings of the two-day event. BBC, GRC Maga’lahi, and The Alliance also joined the contest and were ranked fifth, sixth, and seventh, respectively.
The 2017 Heineken Guam Rugby Sevens was the CNMI Rugby Sevens Team’s first competition since officially forming the squad early this year. The team used the Guam tournament to see where they are at as far as their preparations for the 2017 Pacific Mini Games are concerned.
Sixteen out of the 20-man pool played in Guam, while the group will be trimmed down to 12—the maximum number of players allowed to represent the CNMI to the Rugby Sevens tournament in the Pacific Mini Games that will be held in Vanuatu. Rugby will be played in the opening week of the quadrennial meet or on Dec. 8 and 9 with the Commonwealth’s squad joining 12 other teams in the competition, including 2016 Olympic gold medalist Fiji and favorites Australia and New Zealand.
