The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

Cuckoos Rugby Club cemented their status as the dominant team in the Bahamas Rugby Football Union (BRFU) 2011-2012 season.

The side completed an undefeated run on the year with a 40-18 win over Freeport Rugby Club in the Bahamas Cup final at the Winton Rugby Centre on Saturday afternoon.

An upset-minded Freeport side reached the scoreboard first with the game's opening try just minutes into the match.

Cuckoos would respond and took the lead after a successful conversion.

After the teams again traded tries, and the Cuckoos held a 14-12 lead, they scored twice unanswered to take a 28-12 lead into the half.

The second half was all Cuckoos and a late score from Jemico Cooper with just minutes remaining was the final score in the dominant win.

The BRFU champions defeated Freeport three times on the season.

In previous matchups between the two teams, Cuckoos won 17-12 in February and got the victory in a low scoring affair, 12-5, in January.

Freeport advanced to the final when they upset a shorthanded Baillou and protected their home field advantage with a 25-14 win while Cuckoos won 21-17 over Buccaneers.

Freeport had previously dropped two games against Baillou on the year, most notably a 34-29 defeat in February.

However, the team rebounded in the playoffs to make their second consecutive appearance in the Bahamas Cup final.

In the 2011 final, Freeport lost 45-26 to Baillou.

With the conclusion of the local rugby season, the BRFU now turns its focus on the national team development process for competition in the NACRA region.

In preparation for the qualification rounds of the RWC Sevens Finals and the World Cup Qualifiers, Team Bahamas has been training over the past few months on the path to qualification and will take the programme to another level once club play has concluded.

The regional qualifier for the 2013 RWC Sevens Finals is scheduled to take place at Twin Elms Rugby Park in Ottawa, Canada, August 25-26.

The 2015 World Cup Qualifiers in The North Caribbean region has a pre-qualification group which includes Mexico, Jamaica and the Cayman Islands. The winner of that group goes on to compete with Bermuda and the Bahamas.

The Bahamas is slated to play the group winner, Cayman, in an away game on May 26. They will then play Bermuda at home on June 9.

A win for the Bahamas in Cayman will make the home game against Bermuda the North Caribbean final. The winners progress to play the South Caribbean Champions in July.