# 2 In The HOWLERS series of "GLOBAL RUGBY FAMILY" posted on - www.facebook.com/dogriverhowlers?fref=ts
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2. CAYMAN RUGBY - by Caroline Deegan. The Cayman Islands are an overseas territory of the United Kingdom with a population of 55,000 on the Caribbean
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Founded in 1971
The Cayman Rugby Union is the governing body of rugby union football in the Cayman Islands and is a full member of the International Rugby Board and the North American Caribbean Rugby Association NACRA
Based in South Sound the Union administers and delivers Rugby programs through out the Cayman Islands.
How it all begun by Mervyn Cumber Former Player and founder ……….
Circa December 1970 a meeting was held over a few beers at the Beach Club on Seven Mile Beach. Eight people showed up and of those founder members two of us, Paul Sleep and I (Mervyn Cumber) still live here. Bernard Knights still visits the Club at least once a year.
We started by having touch rugby sessions at the George Town Primary School playing field and this continued through 1971. At that time we were looking a potential site for a pitch. Captain Charles Kirkconnell and his two sons were partners in a car rental company and I knew the family well. Captain Charles and others had just finished dredging in the development now called “Pirates Lair”, and with in a year wild grass and Casuarina trees had sprouted up. The reason the pitch is at an odd angle to the main is that that patch had most wild grass on it! I approached Captain Charles with a view to the club using this area for a rugby pitch until they developed it and he was very happy to oblige. Chris Evans a local Surveyor has been a long time Club supporter, and he and his crew surveyed out the pitch.
CUC very kindly donated and planted four light poles for us and we had the semblance of a pitch. However, it took many work parties to dig out the pine tree roots, and eventually we had a pitch that was half grass and half dredged sand with sea shells and coral in it! Then with fundraisers and donation of time by many we built a small club house located in the current car park where the sewage pit can be seen!
We all took part in a bar rota and all we served was Heineken, hence we became known as “The Greenies”! At one stage in our club history, Jacques Scott & Co. let us know that the club was the single largest consumer of Heineken in the Caribbean!
The first game was played against a visiting warship in 1973 and we then started touring to Jamaica as their Rugby Union had kindly invited us the play in the “Cafenol Sheild” league. We suffered many losses in this league, but eventually beat Privateers club in a Sunday morning game in 1974. This one game the club went on to beat all the clubs the following year, and we won the shield on many occasions.
Sadly, due to Jamaican politics etc. a lot of the expats left Jamaica and their club rugby suffered greatly, and we then started looking to the Bahamas and the US for fixtures. Miami used to play us twice a year. In 1984 – 1985 the current club house was built by a good club supporter called Mike Lockwood who had a construction company. All the monies were raised by social events and membership fees, and a small bank loan.
Number of players (age groups and men and women), clubs , referees.
4 Mens Clubs - Queengate Pigs Trotters, Centry 21 Storm, John Doak Iguanas, Advance Fire Buccaneers
Referees - 15
Men - 152
Women - 30
Social/Touch - 46
U14 - 34
U12 - 23
U10 - 27
U8 - 42
U5 - 68
Summer Corporate Touch League Players- 448
National teams - Mens 15s and 7s; Womens 7s , U19s, and 15s
Accomplishments:
U19s Regional Champions 2008, JWRT 2009, U19s Regional Champions 2009, 2011, 2012
Women's Regional Champions 2010
Mens 7s Regional runners up 2011
Goals :To be the best we can be
Contact person for tours etc. Caroline Deegan [email protected]
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2. CAYMAN RUGBY - by Caroline Deegan. The Cayman Islands are an overseas territory of the United Kingdom with a population of 55,000 on the Caribbean
-------------------------------------------
Founded in 1971
The Cayman Rugby Union is the governing body of rugby union football in the Cayman Islands and is a full member of the International Rugby Board and the North American Caribbean Rugby Association NACRA
Based in South Sound the Union administers and delivers Rugby programs through out the Cayman Islands.
How it all begun by Mervyn Cumber Former Player and founder ……….
Circa December 1970 a meeting was held over a few beers at the Beach Club on Seven Mile Beach. Eight people showed up and of those founder members two of us, Paul Sleep and I (Mervyn Cumber) still live here. Bernard Knights still visits the Club at least once a year.
We started by having touch rugby sessions at the George Town Primary School playing field and this continued through 1971. At that time we were looking a potential site for a pitch. Captain Charles Kirkconnell and his two sons were partners in a car rental company and I knew the family well. Captain Charles and others had just finished dredging in the development now called “Pirates Lair”, and with in a year wild grass and Casuarina trees had sprouted up. The reason the pitch is at an odd angle to the main is that that patch had most wild grass on it! I approached Captain Charles with a view to the club using this area for a rugby pitch until they developed it and he was very happy to oblige. Chris Evans a local Surveyor has been a long time Club supporter, and he and his crew surveyed out the pitch.
CUC very kindly donated and planted four light poles for us and we had the semblance of a pitch. However, it took many work parties to dig out the pine tree roots, and eventually we had a pitch that was half grass and half dredged sand with sea shells and coral in it! Then with fundraisers and donation of time by many we built a small club house located in the current car park where the sewage pit can be seen!
We all took part in a bar rota and all we served was Heineken, hence we became known as “The Greenies”! At one stage in our club history, Jacques Scott & Co. let us know that the club was the single largest consumer of Heineken in the Caribbean!
The first game was played against a visiting warship in 1973 and we then started touring to Jamaica as their Rugby Union had kindly invited us the play in the “Cafenol Sheild” league. We suffered many losses in this league, but eventually beat Privateers club in a Sunday morning game in 1974. This one game the club went on to beat all the clubs the following year, and we won the shield on many occasions.
Sadly, due to Jamaican politics etc. a lot of the expats left Jamaica and their club rugby suffered greatly, and we then started looking to the Bahamas and the US for fixtures. Miami used to play us twice a year. In 1984 – 1985 the current club house was built by a good club supporter called Mike Lockwood who had a construction company. All the monies were raised by social events and membership fees, and a small bank loan.
Number of players (age groups and men and women), clubs , referees.
4 Mens Clubs - Queengate Pigs Trotters, Centry 21 Storm, John Doak Iguanas, Advance Fire Buccaneers
Referees - 15
Men - 152
Women - 30
Social/Touch - 46
U14 - 34
U12 - 23
U10 - 27
U8 - 42
U5 - 68
Summer Corporate Touch League Players- 448
National teams - Mens 15s and 7s; Womens 7s , U19s, and 15s
Accomplishments:
U19s Regional Champions 2008, JWRT 2009, U19s Regional Champions 2009, 2011, 2012
Women's Regional Champions 2010
Mens 7s Regional runners up 2011
Goals :To be the best we can be
Contact person for tours etc. Caroline Deegan [email protected]
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