Rugby-Kids’ tournament wraps up rugby season |27 October 2007

The under-12s tournament was won by Sharks Kids 1, one of three teams entered by the International School-based Sharks squad.

Second place went to the team of pupils from Beau Vallon and Bel Ombre schools, and third spot was claimed by Sharks Kids 2.

The under-14 category was a two-way scrap between Pointe Larue and Beau Vallon schools. The two teams played each other twice, first in a touch-match and then in a full contact game, with the boys from Beau Vallon edging ahead in both matches.

The half-day tournament ended with a demonstration seven-a-side match played by the Seychelles senior squad, whose season highlight was the Association Rugby l’Océan Indien (AROI) organised regional tournament, held in Madagascar to coincide with the Seventh Indian Ocean Islands Games.

Despite coming up against bigger and more experienced teams the Seychelles squad performed well in their first test against some of the region’s top teams, putting in some good performances in matches against Madagascar, Mauritius, Mayotte and Reunion.

“We went to Madagascar with a very young and inexperienced squad because we wanted to use this tournament as a stepping stone for Seychelles’ rugby,” said coach Paul Mondon.

One of the top teams in Africa, Madagascar were no surprise as winners, with Mauritius in second place and Reunion finishing third. The tournament was played in the main football stadium in Antananarivo in front of a crowd of around 20,000 spectators, who cheered the home side to victory.

Played as a seven-a-side competition, the one-day tournament saw each team play four 15-minute matches.

“The standard of play at the tournament was very high, which made it a tough test for us, but also allowed our players, especially some of the junior players, to get a taste of high level rugby and an idea of the standard that they have to aim for and that we can achieve,” said coach Mondon.

“Building for the future was the priority for the tour and the season. Many of the players will still be playing rugby, but will be bigger, stronger and with more experience in four years time, when the Indian Ocean Islands Games come back to Seychelles,” he added.