THE Pepsi Hornets Rugby Club defeated Harvard Rugby Club of Trinidad and Tobago, 10-0, to win the Hairoun Beer-sponsored rugby tournament at the National Park as the Guyana Rugby Football union (GRFU) kicked off their 2018 season.

In a dogged affair between the Guyanese and Trinidadian club, Pepsi Hornets secured victory with tries from Australian-based Kevin McKenzie and David Felicien on either sides of the half to secure the tournament’s $200 000 first-place prize, compliments of Top Brandz Distributors and their Hairoun Beer brand.

The tournament was marked as the opener for the GRFU season, and the team from the Twin Island Republic came to Guyana with a point to prove.

Hornets went 5-0 up thanks to McKenzie, who showed off why he’s one of the Caribbean’s top rugby players, and the Hornets continued their forward play to dominate.

In the grit and grind game, fraught with hard tackles, the score line remained unchanged until four minutes before the final whistle. National player Claudius Butts, playing for Harvard, fumbled a sharp pass which proved costly near the Hornets’ try-line.

Felicien pounced and used his cat-like reflexes to propel himself over the line. With his name on the scoresheet, the Hornets were able to double their advantage and put the game out of reach, much to the pleasure of the fans that stood on the sidelines.
It was the most lucrative rugby tournament in Guyana and both Harvard and Pepsi Hornets played undefeated in the day’s preliminary action.

Harvard would return to Trinidad with a second place prize of $150 000 and Trinidadian Abdoola Silverstone, who played for Pepsi Hornets, was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player (MVP) and collected US$100 for his outstanding performance.