CHAMPIONS Harvard Club were made to work hard all the way before coming away with a last gasp 18-16 victory from their Trinidad and Tobago Rugby Football Union (TTRFU) Toyota Championship match against former winners Caribs rugby club on Saturday at the Queens Park Savannah I rugby pitch.
The match between the two local rugby powerhouses was a tense and physical one, which saw referee Anthony Pontiflette having to be firm to keep control of play, which was robust at times and saw tempers flaring at times.
Caribs had the better of the first half and went into the break with a 6-3 advantage via two penalties from Don Rojas. And they came out firing in the second half to stretch the lead to 16-3 by scoring unconverted tries through Samuel Roberts and Richard Staglon.
The former champions would have expected to pull away from there, but Harvard fought back. Ryan Hinkson and Joseph Quashie both scores tries, and Harvard also enjoyed on conversion.
With two minutes left on the clock the Beer Boys still held a 16 -15 advantage, but Harvard launched a last ditch assault on Caribs’ try line and forced an infringement. And up stepped Hinkson to convincingly bury the penalty between the sticks and earn three points that saw Harvard pull off a last gasp two point victory, much to the excitement of their supporters.
Harvard are hoping to repeat the results of their breakthrough year last season, when they won seven of eight titles, and finished second in the Tobago International Sevens tournament.