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Bermuda opened their play in the Rugby Americas North (RAN) Men’s National Under 19 Championships in Miami, Florida with a heavy defeat.
Playing USA South in their opening match the Bermuda team had no answer for their Pool B opponents. USA South came out on top 41 – 0.
Bermuda struggled to play as a unit and had a few promising attacking moments, but little fumbled passes, forward passes, and some hard-hitting USA South tacklers prevented them from scoring. Meanwhile, the Panthers scored in the opening moments, working the phases inside the Bermuda 22 before outside center Calvin Gentry cut back to go over for the first try.
A break from inside the Panthers 22 from wing Jean Roberts, breaking away from various tacklers, set up another attack for fullback Grant Broeder to speed in for the second South try. That made it 10-0 after nine minutes. Bermuda did a better job keeping some possession for the next 15 minutes or so, but had trouble getting out of their own zone. A fairly wayward kick by Bermuda designed to clear pressure did the opposite, as the South countered and eventually wing Malcolm Easley powered over to make it 15-0.
That was how the half ended, but quickly the South took control in the second half. From a lineout they spun the ball for Easley to get his second. And then moments later, Bermuda got a red card for eye-gouging, and they were in trouble for the rest of the game. A fumbled pass was a gift-wrapped try for center Andrew Rappe, who went 40 meters to make it 25-0. Sean O'Driscoll slotted the first conversion of the day to make it 27 - 0.
The South subs started to make a nice impact, and center sub Cordell Ramsey made some big tackles and important runs. One of those set him up to power over in the corner for the USA South's sixth try and a 34-0 lead.
Finally, Rappe finished the scoring off with a nifty run, and O'Driscoll hit the conversion to end the game.
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