The national rugby Sevens team came in for praise from the Leicester Tigers rugby club of England after they completed a five-day training programme in England prior to their departure for the Commonwealth Games which are being held in New Delhi, India.
Following their stay in England where the team put the finishing touches on their preparations for the Games by spending some time at Loughborough University, the national Sevens team departed on a high note after winning a four-way tournament and also made a guest appearance at the Leicester Tigers’ club.
There they enjoyed an appearance at the Tigers’ Development game, which the Tigers won over Leeds Carnegie rugby club.
Tigers’ community manager Scott Clarke said on the Leicester Tigers’ website that the club was “delighted to welcome them [the national team] to Welford Road [where the Leicester Tigers competed] and they enjoyed a good look around as well as showing their support for Tigers in such a hard-fought game”.
“On behalf of everyone at Tigers, I’d like to wish Guyana Rugby president and team manager, Kit Nascimento and all of the squad a safe journey and good luck in India” Clarke added.
Guyana this year won the first ever gold medal in the Central American and Caribbean Games Rugby Sevens tournament and the Caribbean Championships for the fifth year in succession.
In Delhi, they will face a tough test after being drawn in a pool with Scotland, Canada and New Zealand.
The other pools announced for the Commonwealth Games Rugby Sevens are Pool B, which is headed by 2002 Commonwealth Games bronze medallists South Africa and they face three challenging opening ties against reigning Rugby World Cup Sevens champions Wales, Tonga and the host nation, India. Reigning IRB Sevens World Series champions Samoa top Pool C and face matches on day one against ever-dangerous Kenya, the Cranes of Uganda and exciting Puk Puks of Papua New Guinea. 2006 silver medallists England head Pool D and face an exciting tie against Australia, who finished this year’s World Series in third place behind the Samoans and New Zealand. The two rugby suThe national rugby sevens team during their visit to the Leicester Tigers development game in England. perpowers will also face matches against the third African team in the draw, Namibia, as well as Sri Lanka.The national rugby Sevens team will begin their representation of Guyana in the rugby Sevens events of the nineteenth Commonwealth Games on October 11.
