The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

BEFORE the face-off on the soccer pitch next week, the Bahamas and Bermuda will continue their rivalry in regional rugby competition this weekend.

The Bahamas Rugby Football Union is scheduled to host Bermuda in a North America Caribbean Rugby Association (NACRA) 15-a-Side North Caribbean Qualification match at the Winton Rugby Centre on Saturday, March 21.

The match against Bermuda is slated for 4pm and it will be the finale on a three-game schedule for the BRFU on the afternoon. Freeport faces Nassau in an inter-island under-19 challenge at noon, followed by the Nassau Renegades against Princeton University at 2pm.

The Bahamas will look to avenge a loss at this same stage when they hosted Bermuda back in 2012. It was consecutive losses for the Bahamas and meant elimination from the NACRA 15-a-Side Championships and IRB World Cup Qualification contention.

The Bahamas fell 16-8 to Bermuda in their second game of the North Zone group as Bermuda moved on to defend its NACRA Caribbean Championship .

In game one, the Bahamas fell 27-7 to the Cayman Islands, the first time Cayman had beaten the Bahamas since 2003.

Following the match against Bermuda this weekend, the Bahamas is set to take on Turks and Caicos Islands in the third match of the round robin on April 18.

The 2015 NACRA championships have been divided into two competitions and four divisions, accompanied with a relegation and promotion system playoff. The two competitions are the Championship League and the Cup League.

The Bahamas is a member of the Cup League which features teams in two divisions, North and South. The North Cup League features the Bahamas, Bermuda and the Turks and Caicos Islands. The South Cup League includes the British Virgin Islands, Curacao, St Lucia and St Vincent and the Grenadines.

The winners in the Cup League will earn an opportunity to play their way into the Championship League by facing off against the third place side among the Champions.

The League consists of two three-team divisions with Mexico, Cayman and the USA South making up the North, while Barbados, Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago are in the South division.

NACRA continues with its relegation/promotion system play-off integrated as well.

Mexico played its way into the 2015 Championship League, while Bermuda was relegated to Cup following the 2014 tourney.

Round Robin play began March 7 in the South Zone Cup League as St Lucia tied Curacao. In the North Zone Championship League, Mexico won 50-25 over USA South, in North Zone Cup League Bermuda topped Turks and Caicos 55-1 and in South Champions League, Guyana won 48-22.

The competition will play out through the end of June with champions of each division playing and also the third place finishers of the North and South Championship League’s taking on the respective champions of the Zone Cup League to determine who will be promoted.