Excelsior Community College Eagles defended their Intercollegiate rugby league 9s title on Saturday by defeating the University of West Indies Pelicans 18-4 in the finals at the University of Technology grounds.

The win concluded a flawless campaign for the Eagles, who finished with a perfect 6-0 record. National player Akeem Murray led the team with 10 points, scoring a try and kicking three goals. He was supported by Daniel Barham and Antwon McKane, who each scored a try. The Pelicans' only score came from national player Hakeem Richard with a consolation try.

The finalists had contrasting paths to the championship game. Earlier in the semis, EXED comfortably got past Caribbean Maritime University Spartans 14-4 whilst the Pelicans dug dig deep to carve a 16-10 win over perennial rivals and hosts UTECH Knights. Despite not making the top four, Mico University Crocs showed plenty improvements in their group games.

INTERCOL Rugby League Chair Romeo Monteith remarked, “Hearty congratulations to EXED on defending their title, they played excellent rugby league over the two Saturdays of competition and are deserving winners. All the teams gave excellent accounts of themselves, and we were thrilled to see several national players take the field for various teams. Next season should be even bigger and better for intercollegiate rugby league as institutions continue to rebuild their programs."

The 14th season of the Intercollegiate Rugby League kicked off on Saturday with five of the six registered institutions for the 9-a-side Championship participating. Present were the University of the West Indies Pelicans, University of Technology Knights, Mico University College Crocs, Excelsior Community College Eagles, and Caribbean Maritime University Spartans.

Debutants Browns Town Community College were unable to participate due to logistical challenges that arose late. For the second consecutive year, there will not be a 13-a-side Championship as institutions continue to rebuild their sports programs post-COVID.

The competition format involves institutions playing each other once in a round-robin format before the top four teams face off in semi-final matches to determine the finalists. The Eagles are defending champions. Saturday’s matches were hosted by MICO, marking a historic first for the prestigious university. The competition will culminate on Saturday, March 9, at the Mona Bowl.

In the matches played, Eagles and Pelicans secured identical 12-4 wins over Spartans and Knights, respectively. In the third match, Spartans overcame Crocs with a score of 20-4. Following that, Eagles prevailed over Pelicans with a score of 16-4, and Knights claimed a 12-0 victory over Crocs. The day concluded with an 8-all draw between Pelicans and Spartans. The teams will compete in their remaining round-robin games on March 9.

INTERCOL Rugby League Chair Romeo Monteith remarked, “Rugby league continues its strong revival post-COVID. Last year, only UWI, EXED, and CMU participated. Now, we have six teams, with both UTECH and MICO restarting their programs and Browns Town joining the competition. This is great news for the competition and for the national team, as INTERCOL athletes traditionally contributes around half of the team's makeup."