The Guyana Rugby Football Union (GRFU) yesterday announced a venue switch for the hosting of their reverse Rugby Americas North (RAN) 15s Championship game against Trinidad and Tobago on June 22.
The fixture will now see the game being hosted at the Guyana Defence Force’s Camp Ayanganna Ground, Vlissengen Road, instead of the traditional venue, the Rugby Field in the National Park.
The announcement was made at a press conference held by GRFU President Ryan Dey and Patron of the GRFU, Kit Nascimento.
In addition to a cloud of uncertainty in terms of support from the government with respect to the renovating of the changing room facilities at the National Park, GRFU President Ryan Dey told media operatives that the recent rainy weather has also played a major part in the change of venues.
“We changed the venue from the National Park due to the heavy rainfall”, he said.
Additionally, Dey revealed that the renovation of the dressing rooms has not gone as planned as well as the absence of lights around the field in the case of the game going beyond normal time.
The GRFU, while they received some financial support from the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport, largely turned to sponsors and their own resources to begin the repairs needed at the rugby field in the National Park.
The hosting of the T&T team will cost the GRFU as much as $2.5 Million according to Dey. In this regard, ANSA McAl has stepped up as a main sponsor behind the GRFU along with assistance from Robert Fernandes. The Guyana Olympic Association (GOA) is also expected to give the Union some assistance.
Dey noted, “funding for any team sport in Guyana is tough”.
In the same vein, Dey revealed that while the GRFU had gotten a “substantial amount” of financial backing from the government, this year, that support has been virtually non-existent.
However, Dey remains hopeful that some support from the government will come through ahead of the June 22 match day.
This hope is due to the fact that Dey had many discussions with the Director of Sport in recent times, who assured him of that support.
“Hopefully in the new week we will see that support”, Dey stated.
Looking ahead at what the actual on-field action means for Guyana, Dey said: “A win is of the utmost importance, we are not well known for the 15s format and for us to show development, a win is important. If we win, it will show that rugby is moving forward and moving forward nicely”.
Meanwhile, the ‘Green Machine’ National Coach Laurence Adonis gave an update on the team’s preparation, saying that his men are 90% ready.
“The weather has been bad for us but we have been working during it and right now the team is 90% ready. We have a few more practice games to get ready” Adonis pointed out.
While the team has suffered a few injuries, Adonis does not expect it to affect his side’s performance as there are enough back-up players who are more than capable of stepping up.
With the Guyanese team moving over to the GDF Ground and away from their accustomed hunting ground, it will be a new experience for the national side but this is something that Adonis does not view as a disadvantage to his side.
“I know our players are ready and capable of bringing the bacon home”, Adonis declared.
A requirement of the RAN Championship is that respective hosts are mandated to televise their matches and as such, Nascimento revealed that government agency, the National Communication Network (NCN) will be televising the match.
Nascimento urged Guyanese to come out in their numbers and support the ‘Green Machine’ in their bid to book progression to the next round of the Championship.
The Guyanese ruggers staged a breathtaking comeback over Trinidad and Tobago in April at the Hasely Crawford Stadium in Port of Spain to win 24-23. This time around they will be hoping to emulate that performance and go one better on home soil come June 22.
