The Guyana Rugby Football Union is basking in the euphoria of successful title defences by the national male and female Sevens teams at the just concluded North American and Caribbean Rugby Association (NACRA) Sevens Tournament in Mexico.
But, in the midst of their happiness was also a tinge of sadness at the lack of government support and recognition for the players.
The national men’s team made it four consecutive title wins while the females made it back-to-back title wins.
Guyana’s men’s team will now represent the region in 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi, India.
They have also qualified for the International Rugby Board’s (IRB) Sevens Championships next year in Las Vegas, USA.
At a press conference yesterday at the Guyana Olympic Association (GOA) building GRFU president, Noel Adonis, said the GRFU was elated with the teams’ success and expressed his gratitude to the partners who made participation in this year’s tournament possible. He also disclosed that to-date, the union had not received an ounce of support from the government to make their participation possible nor has the government contacted the union to congratulate them on this great achievement.
Captain of the men’s team, Theodore Henry, who stood in for the injured Claudius Butts forcefully stated that there was no valid reason for the lack of government support as the GRFU has been more consistently successful in recent years than any other sporting organization waving the Guyana flag.
Guyana played unbeaten in the tournament and now carries a record of 26 consecutive victories against their Caribbean rivals in the four consecutive NACRA Sevens Tournament titles that they won. Head coach of the men’s team Laurence Adonis said it was tough with the weather, unfamiliar altitude and the teams they competed against.
“We really showed professionalism out there by holding out composure throughout the competition and sticking to our game plans. It showed that we had depth in our team giving that our team lacked a few season players,” Adonis said.