Saturday, February 27.
The 2010 Habana Howlers Sevens is held in Eduardo Saborit Stadium
- a dog track before the Revolution - the same venue where
Atlantis played in both 2000 and 2001.
On Cuba Time. The
day began in a way that wouldn't surprise anyone familiar with
bureaucracy (and in some ways all of Cuba is one large government
bureaucracy). The tournament started an hour late because the
government committee chosen to inaugurate the event didn't show up
in time for the 8:30 planned parade. But then, all tropical
countries seem to have a different view of time than we do: what
is "Fiji time" in another part of the world is "Cuba time" here
(although in Fiji, international rugby starts on time).
Finally,
a
procession
of
all the competitors took place - we proudly marched in our Cuban
guayaberas to show our respect for the host country - and the
games began.
2/27/2010: from
the white lines, guess where we are playing rugby!!
Enthusiastic Spectators.
The
stands were pretty empty when we arrived, and while they never
filled up, at their peak there were a few hundred people there;
lots of enthusiastic Cuban
fans doing a lot of cheering. The
tournament had been mentioned on TV and this apparently brought a
few people out... And people I talked to in the days following the
tournament repeatedly responded, when I mentioned why I was there,
"Oh yes, we saw that on television."
In
both 2000 and 2001, when Atlantis visited, the number of
spectators at the field that weren't friends or family of the
Cuban players (or mine, or Atlantis captain Al Caravelli's or
manager Omar Rivera's) could probably be counted on the fingers of
one hand. In fact, maybe there were none that didn't fit those
categories.
2/27/10: The
stands from the field before the pre-tourney parade. More
people were to come.
2/27/10: Teams
from (L to R) Peru, Mexico, Venezuela, the US and Canada
assemble for opening ceremony
The Venezuelans
march in parade
Teams conclude
the march-past. In the picture are players from (front to
back) Venezuela, Mexico, Peru and Cuba.
Atlantis Results, Day 1.
The
first day's play comprised three groups of four; following that
the top six were regrouped into two pools of three, ditto the
bottom six. Atlantis was drawn with the Mexican national
team and two Cuban sides - Eastern Cuba and Cuba Development.
Atlantis 25 Eastern Cuba 0.
The first game was against mostly relatively new players: it's
only been a couple of years since rugby began in the East of
Cuba. Nevertheless, although we dominated the game, we
couldn't really score at will as they gave us a good fight.
Marcus Respes scored our first two tries, and Kenny Kolberg the
last two, sandwiching in a try by Ryan Johnson. Our lack of
experienced kicking was brought to the fore in this game as we
missed all five conversions. Clips of three of the tries in
this game are as follow.
Note that the still clips used to link to the video clips are all
from frame grabs; usually these are a small portion of the screen
itself. These are from Marcus' HD camera, and show that -
while on an absolutely scale the quality is not that great - it is
possible to isolate a small portion of a screen from a camcorder
video and display it as a still picture and still maintain
tolerable quality.
2/27/10: Marcus
about to score Atlantis' first try of tournament vs. Cuba del
Este:
click on picture to see clip
2/27/10: Ryan
outpacing the field to score
2/27/10: Kenny
makes great catch that leads to his try
Atlantis 36 Cuba Development 0.
We played better in this second game against a team that was
slightly better than the first.
Kelly again scored two tries, and Marcus, Ryan, Trotter and Thadd
scored one each. This game was filmed with a low-resolution
camcorder, and I've only included a clip of one of the tries -
Kelly's second try. (In addition it appears we haven't captured
either Trotter or Thadd's tries.) Surprisingly, perhaps, from the
looks of it, the player Kelly collided with at the goal like got
the worse of the encounter and took a while to get up. Click
here
to
see the try.
Atlantis 31 Mexico 5.
This was our hardest game of the day. Although Mexico is not
a strong national team by any means, and has been beaten handily
by the US each time they've played, they do have experience with
three appearances in the World Series of Sevens. I reckoned
they'd be a challenge.
In fact they were to be the only team to score on us today, but we
played our best game of the day and dominated the encounter.
Kelly Kolberg scored twice in this game and Matt Hayes and Marcus
also scored. Kelly, growing into the role of fly half -
kicker, made 3 of 5 conversions.
Clips of three of these tries follow.
2/27/10: This
pass under pressure by Rick Medina + Kelly Kolberg's stiff arm
result in try.
Click the picture to see the try.
2/27/10: Marcus
try vs Mexico. Click picture to see try.
2/27/10: Kelly
jumps over last Mexican defender to score 2nd try of game
Family Members. My
family members have been great when I've been here for rugby
tournaments, always in attendance, even when they were the only
ones there. This time they have company, many Cuban fans have
come.
Left: emilito's
family members Daniel, Enrique, Sheila, Enriquito (top),
Mercedita, Diana, Simón (below) Right Sheila and
Daniel make friends with rugby ball; their grandfather Enrique
sits next to Daniel
Embassy People. We
were privileged to have the presence of US "Embassy" personnel on
both days. I put embassy in quotes because as we don't
recognize Cuba and therefore have no embassy. Rather we have an
"Interests Section." On the Atlantis 2000 trip we met
with the Public Affairs Officer at the Interests Section for a
discussion of what we could expect as Americans in Cuba. (I
say "WE met" but I'm the only one to have made both trips.) But
this year was special; in 2000 no one from the Interests Section
came to visit us at the tournament.
This year, members of the staff were around both days and cheered
us on throughout; it was great.
Among the things we learned are that US Interests Section
employees are not allowed outside the city of Havana.
Likewise representatives of the Cuban government in DC are not
allowed outside the Beltway.
Odd.
Emilito speaking
to US Embassy personnel
The presence of the Interests Section, along with several
relatives, one of whom is an important government employee,
reminds me again (as if I could ever forget) of the different
perspectives between Cuba and the US, between Havana and Miami, so
near and yet so far. Below are a couple of posters, one of which
is posted on a shop window in Havana, the other which I
photographed two weeks later at a Cuban festival in Miami.
50 years later, the mutual animosity lives on.
Left: poster in
Havana, February 2010. "... the United States of America has
denied me the visa to see my husband." Right: sign in Miami, March
2010. "Total freedom for all the political prisoners... Down
with the murderous tyranny."
But I digress; I'm here for something that unites and not divides
us: sport. And not just sport, but rugby. Those that have
traveled all over the world for rugby know that there is no sport
that is more universally uniting.
On
Saturday, Cuba kept its tournament hopes alive with a
come-from-behind victory in its final game. Here's a little
video clip of their winning try and some crowd reaction.
Complete Day 1 scores:
1 Mexico 35 - 0 Cuba Development
2 Venezuela 31 - 0 Argentinean Medical Students in Cuba
3 Cuba 35 - 7 Venezuela Classic (Over 30) RFC
4 Atlantis USA Sevens 25 - 0 Eastern Cuba
5 Venezuela Development 0 - 28 Dog River Howlers RFC
6 Alumni RFC (Peru) 12 - 0 International Students in Cuba
7 Atlantis USA Sevens 36 - 0 Cuba Development
8 Dog River Howlers RFC 42 - 0 Argentinean Medical Students in
Cuba
9 Alumni RFC (Peru) 10 - 5 Venezuela Classic (Over 30) RFC
10 Mexico 21 - 0 Eastern Cuba
11 Venezuela 12 - 7 Venezuela Development
12 Cuba 27 - 0 International Students in Cuba
13 Eastern Cuba 0 - 10 Cuba Development
14 Venezuela Development 20 - 0 Argentinean Medical Students in
Cuba
15 International Students in Cuba 0 - 34 Venezuela Classic (Over
30) RFC
16 Mexico 5 - 31 Atlantis USA Sevens
17 Venezuela 19 - 26 Dog River Howlers RFC
18 Cuba 14 - 10 Alumni RFC (Peru)
Rookie Show. All
Atlantis tours feature a rookie show... Just one tantalizing photo
follows.
2/27/2010: two
of our rookies
Sunday, February 28.
By now I have decided I want to stay a couple more days and call
my wife Heide at home to see if I can change my Nassau flight from
Monday to Wednesday. Yes, she finds out, without a penalty
but for a change fee. Now I have to find out if I can change
my Havana flight to Nassau, and I track down José Díaz, who has
been wonderful in arranging so many parts of our trip. He
says he'll contact Havanatur to see what they can do.
Some Murals. John
Babb notes all the patriotic murals outside the grounds and takes
a few photos. A couple of them are seen below.
Left: Mural
based on Cuban flag.
Right: Mural with the motto of the UJC (Young Communist
League) - Estudio Trabajo Fusil (Study Work
Rifle)
Many years ago former US national team coach George Betzler had a
banner made up for Atlantis and we've tried to take it on all our
tours. Here is the banner being held up by the team in yet another
part of the world. I found this picture on the Ultimate
Rugby 7s website, dated March 17, with the caption "Rugby Sevens
the victor in Cuba": http://ur7s.com/news/900
2/28/2010: The team
Sunday morning with banner presented by George Betzler nearly 20
years ago
From left: Emil
Signes, Kelly Kolberg, Dave McPhail, Ryan Johnson, Kenny Scott,
Aron Pillard,
John Babb, Thadd Hill,
Josh Campbell, Rick Medina, Marcus Respes, Al Christian, Matt
Hayes, Chris Ryan The sign in the back "La
masividad en el deporte tarea de todos" means something like "It is our common task
to have as many people as possible practicing sports"
The family is back, and I try to get a picture of team and family;
it's less than perfect but it's nice to have nonetheless.
2/28/10: Family joins
us at tournament.
Back row: Kenny
Scott, Enrique & Enriquito Ortega, unrelated, cousin Diana
Valdés-Denis & Simón Goldzstein, Rick Medina, unrelated
2nd row: Kelly
Kolberg, Aron Pillard, Daniel Ortega (Mercedita's grandson),
Chris Ryan, Josh Campbell, Al Christina, unrelated, Thadd Hill
Bottom row: Matt
Hayes, Sarah Sall, Marcus Respes, John Babb, Ryan Johnson,
cousin Mercedita Besteiro and granddaughter Sheila Ortega,
emilito, unrelated,
cousins Roxana Borges and José Antonio Suárez
Cousins José and Roxana, who didn't make it yesterday, made it
today.
2/28/10
Left: emilito with cousins Roxana and José Antonio on
Sunday.
Right: Enriquito, Sheila, Enrique and Daniel Ortega. Cousin
Diana is at far right.
On the field, we are in Round Robin 2, with Venezuela and
Cuba. We defeat Venezuela 14-0 in a tough game. Cuba
then beats Venezuela and we know the Atlantis vs Cuba match will
be the semifinal.
Atlantis 14 Venezuela 0.
This was a more difficult game than we had anticipated.
Twice Venezuela got to our line and twice nearly scored. And twice
we stopped them. But it wasn't easy, and we had to rely on
long runs against the run of play. And neither team scored
in the second half. Ryan Johnson scored both tries, and
Kelly made both conversions, giving us a little bit of breathing
room.
2/28/10: Trotter
clocked as he gets off try-scoring pass to Ryan. Click picture
to see try
2/28/10: Kelly
pops ball to Ryan following a tackle. Click picture to see try
Atlantis 15 Cuba 0.
This game was the semifinal and we knew the winner would take on
the Howlers for the championship.
It's great to see a bunch of Cuban fans there, enjoying themselves
and cheering loudly for their team.
2/28/10: Cuban fans
and the Cuban flag. There was a lot of enthusiastic shouting
from the stands
Given our lack of creators we needed to rely on defense in this
game. The primary defense let us down twice in the first half but
sweeper Thadd Hill came through with a couple of amazing tackles
on tournament MVP Deulis Martínez after he'd broken the line, and
offensively we barely managed to just get to the corner for a
couple of first half tries by Matt Hayes and Ryan Johnson.
In the second half, after an apparent John Babb try was called
back for a forward pass, we had to wait for a Marcus Respes try to
finally lock the game up.
2/28/10:
Following a breakdown of our primary defense, Thadd saved a
try with this tackle (tackled player obscured by Thadd)...
Click on picture to see. He made another nearly
identical try-saving tackle against the same phenomenal player
about 2 minutes later.
2/28/10: Matt
Hayes touches down for the first try vs. Cuba. Click on
picture to see clip.
2/28/10: Ryan
scores 2nd try vs Cuba about 6 inches to the left of Matt's.
Click on picture for try.
2/28/10: Marcus
breaks past last defender to score 3rd try vs. Cuba. Click to
see clip.
Following the game we have our picture taken with the Cubans, a
picture shown at the top of this article. It was great!
Marcus Respes, who played briefly for the US 7s team, is very
moved by the entire experience and presents a USA jersey to a
player that has propped against him and who has impressed him with
the toughness of his play.
2/28/2010:
Marcus and his Cuban rival & friend Charlot in USA jersey
2/28/10: Hangin'
with the Cubans
Dog River Howlers 35 Atlantis 5.
We
were
whupped
from
the
start,
and our lack of KO skills - and the Howler's strength there - was
significant from the beginning. They scored first and kept
possession after their scores by winning their own kickoffs, and
did a good job of keeping the ball away. When we did get the ball,
we got overanxious and lost it; with very little possession you
can't afford turnovers. When we did score, early in the
second half to make it 3 tries to 1, we shanked the conversion
kick and, whereas a 21-7 score would have made a comeback look
possible, at 21-5 we were still three scores down. It didn't
matter, as the Howlers scored twice more and it wasn't pretty (for
us, that is).
I can't find any video of this game (honest, Karl :), but perhaps
it's just as well.
2/28/10: The entire victorious
Howler entourage
Successful tournament.
I sat down briefly with Paul Mowser of Trinidad and Tobago who was
representing NACRA (North American Caribbean Rugby Association)
and the IRB at the tournament. Paul was getting feedback from the
various teams regarding their perception of the tournament.
I told him I thought, with the exception of the hour delay
Saturday morning, that it had been a very successful event.
I don't know what sort of report he submitted, but in our
conversation I got the impression that he too was quite pleased.
Atlantis scoring totals for the weekend
Name
Tries
Conv
Points
Kelly Kolberg
5
8
41
Marcus Respes
7
35
Ryan Johnson
5
25
Matt Hayes
2
10
Thadd Hill
1
5
Aron Pillard
1
5
Kenny Scott
1
5
ATLANTIS
22
8
126
OPPONENTS
6
5
40
Complete
Day 2 Scores:
1
Cuba Development 12 - 5 Argentinean Medical Students in Cuba
2 Venezuela Development 39 - 0 Eastern Cuba
3 Dog River Howlers 43 - 0 Alumni RFC (Peru)
4 Atlantis USA Sevens 14 - 0 Venezuela Development
5 Venezuela Classic (Over 30) 29 - 0 Argentinean Medical Students
in Cuba
6 Mexico 19 - 5 Alumni RFC (Peru)
7 Cuba 33 - 12 Venezuela
8 Venezuela Classic (Over 30) 34 - 7 Cuba Development
9 Dog River Howlers RFC 35 - 5 Mexico
10 Atlantis USA Sevens 15- 0 Cuba
9th
Cuba
Development
12
- 5 Eastern Cuba
7th Venezuela Classic (Over 30) 0 - 35 Venezuela Development
5th Venezuela 26 - 5 Alumni RFC (Peru)
3rd Cuba 21 - 12 Mexico
1st Atlantis USA Sevens 5 - 35 Dog River Howlers RFC
It was not just a bad day for Atlantis but also for the
US national hockey team as, less than an hour after our loss to
the Howlers, they lost the Olympic final to Canada. The
Canadians were doubly happy.
I was happy too. We stopped in the hotel for a couple of hours
before heading off to the party. During our stay there my
cousin Micky (Miguel Ángel) stopped in to say hello. After a quick
beer, he left, and it was back to rugby world for me. Nothing left
to do but party.
2/28/2010:
emilito & cousin Miguel Ángel (Micky) Besteiro
The banquet takes place at a restaurant in Miramar called la
Cecilia and there is food and beer all around. All but three
of our guayaberas will be destined for different countries after
the weekend, as trading consumes the evening. When we return to
the hotel sometime after midnight, my evening is over, but as for
the rest, well ... I will never know. Those that had to leave on a
4:30 AM bus I think stayed up all night.
We must have had a very enjoyable evening; there are not too many
pictures! Three follow: the first is of three Cuban players
enjoying themselves. Then a picture of John and a player
whom he befriended, his opposite in our game with Cuba, and
finally Trotter and a Cuban with whom he swapped his guayabera.
2/28/10: three
Cuban players at banquet
Left: John Babb
and his opposite from the Cuba match. Trotter following
a swap for his guayabera.
