SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador — Jamaica’s male (Crocs) and female (Lady Crocs) Rugby 7 teams are still on course to secure a medal at the Central America and Caribbean (CAC) Games here despite recorded mixed results on Sunday’s opening matches in the competition.

The Jamaican men were beaten 14-10 by Mexico in the opening match of the day. It was the Jamaicans’ first defeat to the Mexicans in Rugby 7s in more than seven years.

However, the Bruce Martin-coached team quickly rebounded in their second match on the day when they outclassed Costa Rica 47-14 and stayed on course for a spot in the semi-finals of the competition.

The Jamaicans dominated the match from the opening whistle as they jumped out to a 26-7 lead at half-time. The Crocs, who were much quicker and stronger than their opponents, also outplayed the Costa Ricans in the second to romp a comfortable victory.

Bruce Martin, technical director and coach of the Crocs, said: “I felt good about this performance against Costa Rica because that is what we expected from the team.

“I think that we were sleeping, and Mexico shocked us because this is the first time that they have been in seven years. However, the boys quickly got over it and bounced back and they showed some resiliency, and we got the victory over the Costa Ricans.”

The Jamaicans will today face the Cayman Islands, Bermuda and Venezuela in the final three matches in the group stages for a spot in the semi-finals of the competition.

Martin said he is still very confident that they can win the gold medal, but they have to ensure that they win their remaining games to reach the semi-finals of the competition.

“This victory has put us in a good spot heading into our remaining three group games. We have to beat Venezuela, the Cayman Islands and Bermuda and that will put us into the semi-finals of the competition and a chance to win the gold medal,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Lady Crocs got off to a very poor start in the competition after they were soundly beaten 24-0 by Venezuela in their opening game. They then went down 27-0 to Colombia in the second match before rebounding to beat 28-14.

They will now face Caribbean rivals Trinidad and Tobago and Costa Rica in their remaining matches in the group stages of the competition.

A victory for Jamaicans in both matches will see them advancing to the semi-finals of the competition.