Saratoga Jockeys lived up to pre-tournament expectations by defeating Dartmouth College I 17-14 to win the Bermuda International Sevens college division at the National Sports Centre’s North Field on Saturday.

Playing for the first time in the annual event, the select side made up of under-23 college students from the United States and England, came in as one of the favourites despite the players not having played together before.

Tries from the tournament MVP Luca Holloway and Austin Gordon as well as a Rory Naylor conversion won it for Lain Zembek’s side. Luke Morrow scored two tries and the same number of conversions with the other try for Dartmouth coming from Tevita Moimoi.

Holloway, 20, a student at Siena College, was delighted to claim a maiden tournament success for Saratoga.

“It’s amazing, it’s the first win for the Jockeys at a tournament and we’re really happy,’’ Holloway said.

“It’s been an amazing tournament and everyone has been hospitable. We had a great time and hopefully we get invited back again. We played a lot of Division 1 sides which was great exposure for us, and we were really challenged.”

Coach Zembek was pleased that this team were provided with an opportunity to test their mettle.

“I thought we surprised many teams,’’ he said. This was a group with high expectations, but a lot of people assumed we were just starting up. We treated ourselves as the underdog and came out on top.

“These guys met up before the tournament started, had a little training time together and really put it together.

“We worked very hard for that coronation and built that chemistry almost immediately.

“We just trained at Southampton Oval here in Bermuda on Thursday before the tournament and what won it for us was consistency and just staying calm. When stuff was going around, as a team we just needed to look past it.

“Dartmouth gave us a tough game but even when we were down by two tries, our guys battled through the very last second.”

Dartmouth are making the most of their time in Bermuda, as they have also organised a friendly match against Bermuda’s Select XV on Monday night.

Dominic Wareing, the Dartmouth coach, expressed his disappointment on losing in the final.

“It’s a little bit disappointing to finish second and it’s always bittersweet for us to make it this far, play so well and then lose out in the last play,” Wareing said.

“That’s sevens rugby, I'm proud of the efforts and the way we hung in there and fought, so we’re excited for the rest of our season.

“We brought two teams and one team finished second and the other fifth, so that’s great for the college.

“We’re playing the Bermuda national team in fifteens on Monday. It was always the plan as not everybody in our rugby club plays sevens, so we wanted to make sure that they have the opportunity to play as well.

“It should be a great way to finish off the tour. Any time we get to play is exciting but to play on such a beautiful island in amazing conditions, the players are super excited.”

Bermuda All Stars finished sixth after losing 22-5 to Dartmouth II in the plate final. Teachers Rugby Club captain Ja’kee Simons, one of the outstanding players for the local side, hailed the two-day event.

“I think this rugby tournament is a great idea,’’ Simons said. “It’s always a great idea to bring colleges and high schools to play on home turf.

“It helps the youth get a different feel of rugby because they don’t really play sevens throughout the year, they normally play fifteens.

“Getting this sevens tournament here gives us a chance to show our talent and get opportunities to go to bigger and better places. I always feel that’s a great aspect of it and I always love the environment.

“We finished sixth and this is a new squad with just two days of training. We came together trying to put something through.

“I'm not disappointed in my team’s efforts and how they played considering how new this team is, and the preparation time that we had.”

Bondurant Blue Plague, whose star player Hudson Vroegh was voted tournament MVP for the high school division, defeated Bermuda’s Beyond Rugby 18-12 in the final.

Vroegh, 18, enjoyed playing in the tournament and also got to have a feel of Bermuda on his first visit to the island.

“It was one of the best tournaments I've ever played in,’’ Vroegh said. “It’s just an honour for me to win MVP and I thank God for this opportunity to be able to play here and play with my best friends.

“It was overall an amazing experience and the teams here were very competitive. We also came here a little early and got to experience this beautiful place.”

D’zuri Gill, the coach of the three Bermuda teams, saw the tournament as a great way of preparing the island’s under-19 players for international tournaments later in the year.

“It’s great for Bermuda to field three teams and to celebrate the youth by having some competition from the US,’’ Gill said.

“Our young players don't really have the opportunity to play against tougher opposition from other countries, other than playing against each other.

“It’s good for them to play against people from other countries and prepare for their under-19 tours.

“We got a win against Bondurant on Friday, it was great, unfortunately, we couldn't come out with a win on Saturday.”