Head coach Laurence Adonis of the Guyana under-19 rugby squad that recently played in the Cayman Islands says this year’s tournament was by far the highest level of competition he has seen since Guyana has been playing in the North American and West Indian Rugby Association (NAWIRA) Under-19 Championships.
And Adonis emphasized that as a rugby playing nation “we have to improve our game.”
He said, “I was surprised at the level of competition displayed by the teams but the guys played as well as they could have. The scores don’t say how a team has performed because the majority of the points scored were from penalties and the teams had some clinical kickers who were taking penalties from the half way line.”
Guyana lost 23 – 5 and 78 – 0 to Trinidad & Tobago and Bermuda respectively while they defeated the Bahamian team 39 – 10.
“It shows that countries have really been putting some finance into getting their teams in shape.”
“We were at a disadvantage in size and experience because when heavier players collide with your pack they will be moved and most of the opposition’s players were playing rugby for quite a number of years while we had players who were playing rugby for just a few months,” Adonis added.
The former national player also said “some players were really delivering for us but some senior players did not live to up to our expectations but it was a good effort.”
This only leaves the Guyana Rugby Football Union (GRFU) to rethink the schools programme, Adonis observed, so that players can be groomed from a tender age so they would be more acquainted with the game when they reach the under-19 level.
Meanwhile his assistant coach, Theodore Henry, said that his experience in the Cayman Islands was unlike any other he has experienced before because of the professionalism the teams displayed.
Henry also expressed the view that Guyana was at a disadvantage but added that they suffered in the mental aspect of the tournament as the opposition was “getting into their heads and they could not handle the pressure.”
However, he guaranteed that the next under-19 team that leaves the shores of Guyana will be completely prepared to represent their country.
During the past two years, Guyana’s performance at the junior rugby level has declined as they finished fourth in 2008 and sixth this year. It was almost a certainty that they finish in the top bracket prior to 2008 and 2009.
Under-financed
At the media briefing, president of the West Indies Rugby Union, Kit Nascimento, said that this country had not developed to the level of Jamaica, Cayman Islands, Trinidad and Tobago and other countries due to the union (GRFU) being under-financed.
“Those countries get the support from their government and we do not, those countries entertain other countries and travel to other countries to play against teams to gain experience. Finance allows competition,” Nascimento maintained.
“Our players are stuck here to practice against the male senior team and that is a serious handicap to deal with. We usually hold a briefing after every tour not to make excuses but to find solutions to our problems to improve,” he explained.
In a subsequent briefing, Nascimento announced the male senior sevens squad that will be participating in the Abbotsford International Sevens in Vancouver, Canada from July 19 – 26.
Those players who will be involved in the tournament include Guyana’s Claudius Butts (captain) and Kevin McKenzie, Hollis Green, Joshua Clarke, Adrian Griffiths, Devon Woodsede, Duran Beadle, Michael Wilson, Luther Burrell, Tom Healy and Keron Campbell.
Nascimento stated that a few players who had participated in the IRB World Sevens Series in Hong Kong in March have also been included in the squad and this gives the union room to experiment and give players a chance to gain experience.
According to a press release from the WIRU, established players such as Albert La Rose (Guyana), Jermico Cooper and James Jones are not available for the tournament.