The U of T men’s Varsity rugby team recently returned from a playing tour in Jamaica that, despite losses on the field, afforded a glimpse of Jamaican culture and history unseen by the average tourist.
The team landed mid-afternoon in Kingston, Jamaica’s capital-city, and stepped out onto the tarmac and into brilliant sunshine and a steady, cool breeze. Clarence Brown, the team’s Jamaican-born coach, organized the activities and lodging arrangements for the trip through his many contacts on the island. The luggage was loaded onto a waiting bus, and after a brief interview with a reporter, the team drove out of Kingston to the neighboring city of Portmore to meet their billets and drop off their belongings.
Prior to leaving for Jamaica, a team member had rented Stephanie Black’s Life and Debt, a documentary that exposes some of the political, social, and economic realities that lie outside of Jamaica’s tourist resort areas. With Black’s criticism of multi-national corporations, structural adjustment programs, and debt servicing in a Jamaican context still ringing in their ears, the team’s bus pulled into McDonald’s for dinner on the first evening. There was a resounding decision to, as one team member put it, “support local” for the rest of the trip-instead of McDonald’s that night, they bought jerk chicken and pork from nearby roadside vendors amidst stray dogs, passing cars, barbeque smoke, and pounding reggae.
Day two started with a tour of Wray & Nephew, the famous rum distillery, and finished with the Blues taking on the Caribs: the Jamaican national rugby team. The game was highly publicized, drawing out sports reporters from every national newspaper to catch the Canadian/Jamaican showdown.
U of T took an early lead with a 35-yard penalty kick scored by winger Josh Singer. Singer later went on to score a single-handed try, but the Caribs won the game convincingly 45-8. After exchanging plaques and gifts, and taking pictures, the Blues sang a few risqué Canadian rugby songs and then retired for the night.
To recuperate, both physically and mentally, from the game, the following day the team took a trip out to the Jamaican countryside. They drove to a nearby beach and body-surfed-the breaking surf a first for almost all of the team members. As dusk fell the team returned to their lodgings, and stopped halfway up the mountainside at a large street party outside of a local bar. The jerk chicken was delicious, the Jamaican sound system lived up to its reputation, and the warmth of the locals made everyone feel welcome. Team members stayed late into the night playing dominoes, dancing and socializing.
Next on the agenda was an early visit to the commissioner-general at the Canadian embassy in Kingston. The commissioner-general talked with the players for some time discussing the strong ties between Jamaica and Canada and stressing the importance of social interaction between the two nations.
The Varsity Blues then played the University of West Indies (UWI) in an evening game. During the second half, U of T’s English transfer student-winger Paul Walker-made a blistering run down the sideline and then an inside pass to supporting forward Orlando Jones. Jones scored the first try of the closely matched game. U of T hung on to their lead under pressure from UWI and won 5-0.
There’s nothing like a Red Stripe beer on a hot summer afternoon, and the next day the team was lucky enough to take a tour of the world-reknowned brewery. Following that, they traveled across Kingston to visit the former location of the infamous Port Royal-“the wickedest city on earth.” At its peak in 1692, Port Royal was home to 6,000 people including slave traders, buccaneers, and common criminals, until it was submerged by a violent earthquake that same year.
The last game played was against the Vauxhall/St. Catherines combined club teams. Vauxhall/St. Catherines scored first, late in the first half. U of T fly-half Benjamin Petric punched in a try on a short run up centre field during the second half, and winger Josh Singer scored a penalty kick from 25 yards out. However, U of T couldn’t hold the combined club team and the final score was 24-8.
The team then packed and said goodbye to their kind and charitable billets and loaded onto their bus to travel across the island’s lush tropical interior to Jamaica’s tourist area in the north-west. They arrived in Montego Bay and spent a night in a hotel before reluctantly boarding the plane home.
Though the Jamaica 2004 tour wasn’t as successful as was hoped in terms of matches won, the team experienced the Jamaica few foreigners are fortunate enough to see. U of T men’s varsity rugby looks forward to continuing this tradition when the Jamaican team members make their second trip to Canada, this summer.
