Team Guyana will rely heavily on a squad of young ruggers to regain its winning reputation when the Rugby Americas North (RAN) Sevens Tournament is staged from October 16-17 in the Turks and Caicos.
Once the rulers of Regional Sevens, Guyana over the past few campaigns have played like peasants, but with the selection of a younger and hungrier core, the local outfit can perhaps return to its winning ways.
Coming up in the clutch and being mentally prepared for the challenges which lie ahead may be the keys to unlocking success for the young outfit.
This is according to former national player and current coach, Theodore Henry. During a press briefing at the National Resource Centre yesterday, Henry had the following to say: “We have quite a number of new players added to this team, so, it depends on the mindset they enter this tournament with.”
Henry added “It is whether they will go there and bring out that big-game mentality or they going to fold under the pressure and we are hoping they bring out the big game mentality as we know that Guyana is capable of doing.”
The ‘Green Machine’ won six consecutive Sevens titles from 2006 to 2011, but the last of the eight titles came in 2016.
Since then Guyana has experienced poor exits and the last time this tournament was played – in 2019 – Guyana finished sixth.
Henry, who has won several titles with the team, stated that apart from the mentality, it will also come down to hard work
“The ingredient that we had was basically hard work as well as experience and the fact that we have been doing it for a long time, even before our first title. We would have had a lot of heartbreaks and lost a lot of tournaments but this team has not experienced it as yet and they will be getting their feet wet in this tournament”
He added, “I am hopeful in the fact that I have been there and a lot of my wisdom and knowledge, I can teach them and we don’t have to start from ground zero.”
According to the coach, minimum success will be a top-four finish but given how are they seeded, “it is highly likely we can make the finals.”
He opined that they can finish in the top four but how they are seeded in the pool, he said it is highly likely they can make the finals. Guyana is in pool ‘C’ along with Bermuda, Belize, and Curaçao.
The two-day tournament marks the highly anticipated return to international competition from the COVID-19 pandemic.
The tournament also acts as a qualifier for next year’s World Rugby Sevens challenger series, with the winning side gaining the opportunity to compete for the 16th and final spot on the HSBC World Rugby Sevens series.
The Squad reads: Jamal Angus (Captain), Godfrey Broomes, Rondell McArthur, Osei Mckenzie, Fabian Joseph, Lancelot Adonis, Peabo Hamilton, Avery Corbin, Oneil Charles, Johnathon Garnett. Lionel Holder, and Tyrese Prescod. George David is the Manager, while Theodore Henry and Akeem Fraser are Head Coach and Physiotherapist respectively. The 15-man travel contingent is scheduled to depart on Wednesday, October 13 and return the following Monday. However, they are currently four million dollars adrift from the sojourn’s budget.
