-Trinidad captain says Guyana should expect an intense game

By Floyd Christie
The Guyana-Trinidad rugby rivalry has been ongoing for years and the two Caribbean rugby powerhouses are on course to bump heads this weekend when the curtain rises on the Central American and Caribbean (CAC) rugby sevens games at the National Stadium, Providence.

The teams from overseas have already arrived and are adding the final touches to their arsenal during practice sessions at various locations in and around Georgetown.

The Trinidad and Tobago Rugby squad was sighted  yesterday in practice and when their  captain Wayne Kelly was contacted for a comment he issued a strong warning for the Guyanese side.

“Expect a very intense game and a very hard showing because we intend to bring it to the Guyanese team as much as they intend to bring it to us,” Kelly said.

Further, Kelly noted that his team has been “working really hard” and will remain focused on their set plan, which is grabbing the gold medal at the CAC rugby sevens games.

“We want to go home with gold… we believe that if we work hard now, we’ll see the rewards in the end,” Kelly stated as he emphasized the team’s basic principle – “take care of the little things and the big things will take care of itself.” The team has made a lot of changes to their roster by introducing new players so as to bring a different aspect to their game, Kelly said.

However, he recognized the strength and talent of the formidable Guyanese line-up and said that  tough competition between the two has helped to raise the level at which the Trinidadian team plays. “We appreciate and we love the intensity that the Guyanese team has and we intend to bring it just the same to them.” Trinidad lost last year’s Caribbean Championship at the hands of the home team and with the championships also being held in Guyana following the CAC Games, Kelly referred to  his team’s past loss in the finals, stating that they will use that “as fuel”.

“We put it behind us, but we still sometimes use that as an example that we need to step it up one more notch and we plan on doing that this time,” Kelly said.

Also preparing for the Caribbean Championships are the national female rugby players as they strive to defend their Caribbean championship for the second year in succession.

The squad which was named on Wednesday following their four-day encampment at the Splashmins eco camp is also in intense training sessions in preparation for the opening match of the Caribbean Championships when they face off against St. Lucia on Monday.