Rugby League Jamaica (RLJ) staged its annual New Year 9’s festival at the UWI Mona Bowl in Kingston last Saturday.

Nineteen teams turned up to contest four categories, including Wigan-Leigh College from England.  

Tries from Kenneth Walker (2), Marvin Thompson, Jade Harrison and Akel Jenson led Duhaney Park Redsharks to a 24-12 win over Washington Blvd Bulls in the men’s final.  

For the Bulls, Oshane Edie (2) and Linval Green replied with tries. Jamaica Defence Force shutout St Bess Sledgehammers 24-0 for third, while St Catherine OB Thundercats and Liguanea Dragons finished 5^th and 7^th respectively, topping West Kingston Hyenas and Spanish Town Vikings. 

The Women’s final was a hotly contested affair between Redsharks and Sledgehammers. Shanique Smith and Allison Frazier rushed the winners to 8-0 lead before Sledgehammers came roaring back through scores from Yanique Days and Yianna Wilson. It needed sudden death extra time to settle the affair, and it was Smith who produced a brilliant solo break to settle the matters. 

In Boy’s Academy U19 finals, Jamaica Hurricanes Academy A edged English outfit Wigan-Leigh College 12-8.  Scorers for Jamaica were Damoy Palmer, Tyreke Hutchinson and Shevaugh Smith, the latter scoring in extra time. Both Wigan tries came from Toa Bayliss. The win marked the first ever by a Jamaican domestic team over an English team in any format of the game. Meanwhile, in the High School U19 Category, BB Coke High school got the better of The Cedar Grove Academy 12-8.

Director of Romeo Monteith commented, "RLJ is extremely pleased with the execution of the tournament, we had competitive games all round and Wigan-Leigh added an excellent international flair to this staging."

Defending champions Clarendon College and Glenmuir High are the first two teams to book their spots in the semi-finals of the 2023 ISSA/Wata DaCosta Cup after quarterfinal round Group A wins over Manchester High and Christiana High, respectively, on Saturday.

Clarendon College moved to six points from as many games with a dominant 4-0 win over Manchester at Manchester High while Glenmuir are also perfect after two games after a 1-0 win over Christiana at Glenmuir.

The pair will meet on Tuesday at Manchester to determine the group winners. Manchester and Christiana will clash at Brooks Park in the other game.

In Group B, Dinthill Technical got their second win in as many games with a 3-0 win over Garvey Maceo at Ewarton Sports Complex.

In the day’s other game, B.B. Coke got on the board in the quarterfinal round with a 2-1 win over Cornwall College at Jarrett Park.

Dinthill Technical currently leads the group with six points from their two games with a goal difference of five while Garvey Maceo, despite their loss on Saturday, remains in second with three points and a goal difference of one.

B.B. Coke are third, also with three points and a goal difference of negative three, while Cornwall College are yet to get off the mark in fourth and have the same goal difference as B.B. Coke.

Tuesday’s final day of the quarterfinal round will see Dinthill face B.B. Coke at STETHS and Cornwall College battle Garvey Maceo at Glenmuir High.