Perez Rugby School Tournament: The Little Barras Are Still Going Strong!!

The Saint-Barthélemy Barracudas Rugby School fielded three youth teams at the major Caribbean rugby school tournament, the Christian Pérez Tournament, organized last weekend by the Good Luck Club of Le Gosier.
Competing in both the under-9 category and, in partnership with the Archiball of Saint Martin, in the under-11 category, the young players from Saint Barth distinguished themselves. First, on Friday evening, the two Barracudas teams—composed of 7- and 8-year-old boys and girls—claimed the bronze shield as well as second place in the challenger category. Individually, Mahé Milesi and Léon Dagorn received the jury’s special award.

On Saturday, the under-11s, playing as the “Archi-Barras” team, shone brightly, finishing 4th in the “gold” pool and taking home four individual titles: Méli Kellerer was named the tournament’s best female player, and her teammate Solal Benchimol earned the same honor among the boys. As for Zoé Hericher, she took home the title of best tackler of the tournament. Finally, Stan from Archiball also received the jury’s “Coup de Cœur” award in his category. “We arrived last Wednesday; we’re staying at Pierre & Vacances, and in addition to rugby, we’re doing lots of activities like tree-top adventures or trips to the river—it’s great,” ” explains Méli, enthusiastically. “This tournament is so great; we come back every time because we get to meet lots of other teams we don’t know,” emphasizes Marley, still out of breath from a won match. “We’re up against big guys like Diamant, but if you tackle at the ankles, it’s fine—it’s not hard,” Zoé assures us. A real adventure, on top of a tough athletic challenge for these young Saint-Barth players. It’s the perfect way to foster team spirit and shared experiences—and not just around rugby.

As their coach Matthieu Soula sums it up in conclusion: “The kids are having a great tournament and a great time in Guadeloupe. Even though there aren’t many of us, and the trip was a bit long, the kids are adapting well to it all. It’s a great experience for them—they don’t get to play in many tournaments because of our double insularity. We put a lot of effort into the logistics and organization, because what matters most to us is that they enjoy playing rugby and being together as well. And when we see their smiles today, we know it’s a success!”