The Bahamas Rugby Football Union (BRFU) and Team Bahamas managed to take advantage of a pivotal game at home over the weekend, as the country knocked off regional rival Bermuda 21-15 in the North America Caribbean Rugby Association (NACRA) 15-a-side North Caribbean Qualification match on Saturday at the Winton Rugby Pitch.

With Bermuda up one, 15-14, Kevin Salabie delivered for The Bahamas, scoring on a kick to seal a 21-15 win for The Bahamas. Team Bahamas withstood several last minute attempts by Bermuda to escape with a hard earned victory. Michael Watkins was named as the game's most valuable player (MVP).

Team Bahamas managed to avenge a 2012 loss at this same stage when they hosted Bermuda. The loss, at that time, was the third consecutive for Team Bahamas, which eliminated them from the NACRA 15-a-side Championships and International Rugby Board (IRB) World Cup Qualification contention. Back then, The Bahamas fell 16-8 to Bermuda in their second game of the North Zone group. Bermuda moved on to defend its NACRA Caribbean Championship.

Following this weekend's contest against Bermuda, The Bahamas will now take on the Turks and Caicos Islands in the third match of the round-robin tournament on April 18.

The 2015 NACRA Rugby Championships, the eighth edition, is a rugby union championship for Tier 3 North American and Caribbean teams. It has been divided into two competitions and four divisions. The two competitions are the Championship League and the Cup League.

The Bahamas is in the Cup League, which features teams in north and south divisions. The North Cup League is made up of The Bahamas, Bermuda and the Turks and Caicos Islands, while the South Cup League includes the British Virgin Islands (BVI), Curacao, St. Lucia and St Vincent and the Grenadines. The winners from the Cup League will earn a chance to play their way into the Championship League by facing off against the third place side from the Championship League.

The Championship League consists of two three-team divisions with Mexico, the Cayman Islands and the American South making up the North, while Barbados, Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago are in the South division.

Round-robin play began on March 7 and the competition will extend through the end of June with the champions of each division playing. Also the third place finishers of the North and South Championship League's will take on the respective champions of the Cup League to determine who will be promoted.

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