Teamwork was the hallmark of the Guyana men’s team’s success at the NAWIRA (North American, West Indies Rugby Association) Sevens championships which was played last weekend in The Bahamas, coach Sherlock Sam told Stabroek Sport yesterday.
Guyana retained the men’s title but the women’s side failed to record a win at the regional rugby event which attracted a number of teams from North America and the Caribbean.
Solomon said that the teams had come fully prepared to challenge Guyana for the crown they won last year but he said his men were equal to the challenge.
“The players stepped up to the plate and it was all round performance and teamwork that helped us to win again, the coach said.
Guyana defeated Jamaica 7-5 in a hard-fought final, after both teams had shown their intention of being the teams to beat in the preliminary rounds.
The Guyanese had earlier beaten Martinique in the semi-finals 17-5 and got the better of Trinidad and Tobago 24-14 and USA South 17-7 on Sunday while a day earlier they disposed of Turks and Caicos 26-4, Barbados 29-0 and Mexico 26-5.
Five Guyanese players Albert La Rose, Claudius Butts, Thedore Henry, Dane Parks and Richard Staglon were named to the West Indies team to continue training for a possible tour to San Diego, USA early next year.
Solomon disclosed that 14 West Indian players from the 21 called up will travel to Trinidad and Tobago next weekend for a three-day training Camp.
Solomon also had high praise for rookies Parks and Peabo Hamilton, who were on their first tour, “they were outstanding and adjusted quickly under the circumstances,” he said.
“We were expecting a tough tournament and it was extremely tough only our first game was easy but all the others were challenging,” the coach lamented.
Guyana’s women’s team found the going rough against their more experienced opponents and lost all their matches.
Lawrence Adonis, the women’s coach said that the girls played well on the first day and stood up well against USA and Canada, but faltered on both occasions.
According to Adonis, the Guyanese were leading the USA for most of the play in their first encounter but the Americans won on the last play of the match.
The Guyana women’s team lost 10-24 to Canada, 5-7 to the USA Development Eagles, and 0-10 to Jamaica in the first round Saturday.
On Sunday, they lost 0-24 to the USA, 0-38 to Canada and 0-12 to Jamaica.
“We were always in the game against our opponents but just could not find the try line, we have to do more with our ground play and that is an area we will need to concentrate on more in the future,” said Adonis.
He identified Captain Carrin Carter, Laurel Anderson and Tricia Munroe as being the outstanding players.
The Guyana contingent returned home on Tuesday night.
