Says Emmerson Campbell
Last November, Guyana’s premier outdoor sports team was inexplicably scrambling to secure funds to attend the NACRA 7s Championships in the Cayman Islands.
The national rugby team which won the annual 7s event on six consecutive occasions (2006-2011), was surprisingly unable to accrue adequate funds to compete at the championships.
The ruggers were subsequently booted out of the tournament without even taking the field. A dark cloud then hung over the players and the hard working but cash-strapped Union.
This year the rugby fraternity has seen the silver lining and the skies are clearer.
They won the NACRA 15s championship in June after 43 years, beating USA South on U.S soil. The team has now secured adequate sponsorship to go after their seventh title in Mexico next month.
Thanks to the Government of Guyana, the GOA, Edward B Beharry and Co. and other stakeholders.
The sponsorship is there, the overseas standout players are here, they have the backing of the government, private entities and the nation at large.
Let’s hope that their fortunes in Mexico are what we have come to expect from our heroes. The national team is outfitted with the talent, experience and a never-give-up mentality.
This was on display in the 15s tournament when The ‘Green Machine’ went into robot mode against USA South in Atlanta and defeated the hosts after trailing 24-8 at halftime.
They certainly have the tools. But can the nation’s most successful outdoor sports team bring home the bacon from Mexico and subsequently pave the way for a 2016 Olympic berth?
Their talismanic president, Peter Green thinks so. “The stakes are high we will not fail” Green prophesied.
Once the six-time NACRA 7s winners are victorious at the December 3-4 championships, it paves the way for them to compete at the Hong Kong 7s in March free of cost which will then serve as the perfect warm up for the NACRA Championships in June, a qualifier for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil. Winning also ensures that Guyana qualifies for the Pan Am Rugby Championships slated for Canada next July.
No one knows the forecast, but Guyanese here and in the diaspora can only hope that good weather prevails on the road to Hong Kong, Canada and Rio via Mexico.
