After six trial matches, the 27-man squad for the National rugby team, the ‘Green Machine’ is slated to be selected today. Ahead of today’s selection, Stabroek Sport spoke to the team captain, Jamal Angus, on the sidelines of the final trial match on Sunday at the rugby field.
According to Angus, the purpose of the trial matches was to get the best quality of players ahead of the Rugby Americas North (RAN) return fixture against Trinidad and Tobago slated for the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) Ground, Camp Ayanganna.
Questioned on the quality of the current crop of players, Angus responded; “The quality has lifted over the last two to three trial games. The inclement weather has been rough to us, forcing us to play in a lot of slushy, waterlogged fields, but we have been working with what we have and we have been improving from game to game”.
Angus also noted that the team has been working on their flaws which were recognized in the first game against T&T back in April.
“We had a bit of a problem with our line-out in Trinidad so we have been working on our line-outs. Also we were looking at a realignment on the defence. We were leaving some gaps and overlaps, so we paid a lot of attention to that and hopefully it will pay off in time to come”.
While Godfrey Pollydore is out injured for Saturday’s match, Angus believes there is enough depth and talent waiting to fill that gap. To put things into perspective, Pollydore was the hero from the first game, effecting a last-ditch tackle to prevent the Trinidadians from scoring a winning touch.
However, Angus remains optimistic. “He’s definitely a big loss, he added a lot to the team but we always have players willing and waiting in the wings to step in. I trust the guys to step up and put their best foot forward”.
Asked about the general feeling in the camp, Angus replied; “The vibes are good, we are a young squad, we’re building from strength to strength, there are no egos in the squad, just people willing to learn and accept criticism, so we have a good thing going”.
On April 28, earlier this year, the Green Machine roared back into action after five years of inactivity in the 15s format, which is called a ‘test match’.
They engineered a stunning 24-23 come-back win in the first leg of their RAN 15s Championship match against Trinidad and Tobago at the Hasely Crawford Stadium in Trinidad. The Guyanese ruggers managed to emerge victorious thanks to a hat-trick from tight-head prop Rondel McArthur and the heroic last-minute tackle of the USA-based Pollydore to deny the Trinidadians a game-winning touchdown.
Providing that the ‘Green Machine’ is successful on Saturday at home, Guyana will progress to the final of the RAN sub-zone where they will face the winner of Barbados, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and St. Lucia.
The RAN Men’s Championship made a return after being inactive for almost five years due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Green Machine’s 24-23 win over their T&T opposition was their first match in tests since they lost 19-5 at home to Guadeloupe in 2019.
