Knights no match for tourists

Kwesi Mugisa, Staff Reporter

THE JAMAICA Constabulary Force (JCF) Knights proved to be no match for their West Yorkshire counterparts as they were thumped 48-8 in an invitational rugby league friendly match at Vauxhall High School yesterday.

However, despite their struggles against the vastly more-ex-perienced Yorkshire team, the hopeful cops, who began playing league just 14 months ago, have their sights set on an appearance at next year's RLIF Police World Cup in Australia.

The West Yorkshire team looked superior from the start of the game with Matt Dunn being virtually unstoppable as he niftily skipped past tackles to coast in for tries. By half-time Dunn had rushed in for three and Andy Eastham had added one, while Jeff Mullins scored two goals to push the score to an insurmountable 28-8.

Second-half tries

Richard Oxley and Danny Burton added quick second-half tries to see the lead balloon even further. However, the JCF found renewed energy when they scored through Hannibal Thompson. "I think we held our own out there based on how fresh the team and even some of our guys were," said Knights captain Dwight Cranston.

"There is definitely scope for development and the sky is the limit really. In fact, be sure to look out for us in the 2008 Police World Cup," he said.

West Yorkshire Police captain Phil Chapel agreed that the local police team had a lot of potential.

" We've been playing the game a bit longer than they have but they are very strong and their tackling is superb," Chapel said.

"Physically, they are right up there but they need some work on their ball skills. With training and proper coaching, they will be a very good team," he said.

The event, sponsored by telecommunications company People's Telecom Jamaica Ltd., is aimed at developing the sport in Jamaica. On Saturday, the West Yorkshire team will challenge a Jamaica National Select XIII at the same venue.