Bulls captain Carl Thompson receive Winner awards from Tournament Director Candace Salmon.
Washington Blvd Bulls won the inaugural Jamaica U23 National Club Championship (13s) on Saturday April 27, at Mona Bowl. Three clubs entered the competition, the other two being Duhaney Park Red Sharks and St. Catherine OB Thundercats. There were late withdrawals from St Bess Sledgehammers and Portmore RL who had originally signaled intentions to play.
During round robin play, Thundercats had defeated Bulls 10-6 and ed Sharks 10-8 to make the finals as the number one seed. Meanwhile Bulls defeated Red Sharks 12-0 to finish 2nd and book a finals berth. The final was a close affair with the Bulls scoring first through Tyreke Hutchinson. Thundercats came roaring back with when ------ got on the board. Both teams tussled for ascendancy before Antwon Mckane settled the matter with a brilliant try in the dying minutes.
Thundercats Captain Tahj-Jay Lynch receives Runner Up Awards from Tournament Director Candace Salmon.
Commenting on the win, coach Oshane Edie said, “We were surprised by our win on the day as we had a very young squad, and the initial objective was to gain experience playing at a higher age group. However, after our first game, we realized we could compete, and I made a tactical change to switch our back rows out to center and bolster our defence. This was key to us coming back in the finals and winning, as we had several try saving tackles out wide. We have a lot of budding talent in this group and we will continue to nurture them. ”
His counterpart Tahj-Jay Lynch felt his team was below par on the day, “Our overall performance on the day was below our standards. We anticipated the games but didn’t make the necessary preparations to put ourselves in 1st place. However, we will tighten up our training and this will allow us to get better at rugby league. We have the talent; we just need to add structure to it.”