By Phil Caplan, Date:25/7/13
Jamaica rugby league head coach and director of rugby Romeo Monteith reflected on his side’s 38-14 loss in Toronto at the weekend as they arrived back on the island.
The reggae warriors won more friends among the near 6,000 crowd but returned without the Caribbean Carnival Cup.
“It was a hotly contested game that showed how far the sport is progressing in the region,†said Monteith. “Canada deserve great credit for the events they are putting on. We never really recovered from a slow start but battled bravely to contain our bigger opponents.â€
Canada led 20-6 at half time and Monteith acknowledged that the Jamaicans were the architects of their own downfall in the second period. “We got it back to 20-10 and dominated possession for a while but dropped some crucial ball and the game went away from us.â€
“Canada played well and stuck to their systems and structure. We were very poor when we got near their try line and must have knocked on at least five times when we had scoring chances. I felt our tackling was strong and if we can improve our ball retention then we will be okay.â€
He added, “It was our first game since last July and in order to improve we are need sponsors to come on board and help this team play more regular internationals, there are thousands of fans who want to see us play and we need help to make it happen. “
CANADA 38 JAMAICA 14
CANADA
Robin Legault, Brett King, Adam TImler, Christian Miller, Tony Felix, Matt Wyles, Steve Piatek, Eric Moyer, Chris Diamond, Rob Autagavaia, Trent Hansen, Henry Miers, Cam Grace; Substitutes – Joe Bangay, Geoff Bylund, Ken Waring, Enoch Wamalwa
Tries: Chris Diamond, Steve Piatek, Robin Legault, Brett King, Tony Felix, Geoff Bylund
Goals: Steve Piatek 7
JAMAICA
Robert Rodney, Jakeba Grant, Claude Yen, Corey Hanson, Adrian Mckenzie, Fabion Turner, Ryan Grant, Jason Gooden, Andre Reid, Sandino Hastings, Nathan Campbell, Stephen Scott, Jermaine Pinnock; Substitutes – Marvin Thompson, Omar Jones, Alec Harris, Romaen Campbell
Tries: Corey Hanson, Adrian McKenzie, Robert Rodney
Goals: Ryan Grant
Referee – Paul Byrne (Eng)
Attendance – 5,788
