Kent Havoc Start Strong At Rose City Tournament

The Kent Havoc RFC played in the inaugural Rose City International Rugby Tournament at the Windsor Stadium in Windsor this weekend. Six teams competed – Kent, Windsor, Toronto Buccaneers, and Etobicoke from Ontario, along with Detroit, and Michigan RFC.

Kent played two games on Saturday, against Detroit and Toronto. The Kent team, with 4 players making their rugby debuts, performed excellently in two closely fought defeats, losing 19-14 to Detroit (Rhys Higgins scoring both tries, Craig Arnel kicking both conversions) and 20-10 to Toronto (tries from Craig Arnel and Lester Crosby). The team played excellent running rugby but could not quite match their opponents’ organized play.

On Sunday, 10 of the team returned to play Michigan in a 10-a-side Bowl final. A last minute try from debutant Christopher Barber gave Tyler Gawley the opportunity to kick the extra two points for a 29-27 win. The other try scorers were Tyler Gawley, Aidan Taylor and Jim Brooks (two).

The Cup final also came down to the last play of the game, with former Kent player Jordan Foster, now playing for Detroit, agonizingly missing the last kick of the game to give Windsor the win by two points.

Windsor were fitting champions and excellent hosts for the entire weekend. Invites have already been sent to teams in England and Wales for an expanded tournament in 2018, building on this year’s success.