There was a certain bloom at the Cup final of the Sports Tok 7s, the Black Orchids from the Autonomous Region of Bougainville shone brightly after a lengthy absence, coming back onto the rugby sevens’ scene with a hard fought win over the Nova Rugby Club.
The fifth installment of the annual sevens tournament was highly competitive, with the Orchids defeating last year’s winners the Brothers Rugby Club in the Cup semifinals to guarantee their spot in the Cup final; the Orchids led by Captain Erick Kaiat were impressive, despite being held 5-5 in a cagey first half.
The Orchids with their open style play spread their attack and used their speed to score two tries to advance to a 17 – 5 lead in the second half, before Nova closed the match with a try right on fulltime, but it was still not enough for a win for the Novas.
Orchids still came out on top 2022 winners of the Sports Tok 7s Cup with a fulltime score at 17-10.
Erick Kaiat is one of the most senior players in the Orchids side and Captained the team in an impressive win.
Despite a lapse in sevens rugby in the Autonomous Region, the team managed to pull together a mix of youth and experience to show their dominance in the tournament.
“Preparation was for two months and all that hard work has shown, we have found that winning formula and I am proud to be the captain, I told the boys that I will lead the team to a win in Port Moresby and now all the boys are ecstatic with the outcome,” a joyous Kaiat said.
The Orchids decided to stay on after an impressive Kumul Petroleum Holdings National Sevens series outing, the team from the “San kamap” region finished third overall in the provincial series, this Cup win was the icing on the cake for the Orchids, taking home K10, 000 prize money with a new set of jersies from Tati Sports.
As complimentary, the Orchids will be flying to the Autonomous region with the fifth year Sports Tok 7’s commemorative Cup as well.
To top it all off Kaiat was named the Paul Joseph player of the tournament, well deserving for the veteran, who has been a stalwart for the Orchids through their finer years and now their resurgence.
“Player of the tournament!”, I have no words to express this feeling, I have never been given an award in past tournaments, the supporters have been great and that has been a motivating factor in my performance I would like to thank the tournament host for the award and I dedicate it to the fans that turned up to support,” Kaiat said.
Meanwhile, the Rabaul Stallions womens team claimed the Open Womens Cup after a convincing 24-12 win over the Juggernauts womens’ team; the Stallions walked away with K5000 and a new set of jersey from Tati Sports.
Nova defeated Stallions in the mens U20 to claim the Cup.
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