Banks DIH Sevens postponed indefinitely

-Rugby season begins with15s tourney Saturday

The Guyana Rugby Football Union (GRFU) has postponed indefinitely the Banks DIH Sevens tournament, which traditionally marks the official opening of the rugby season, due to the flooding of the National Park Rugby Ground.

According to a release from the GRFU yesterday, the condition of the National Park ground is unsuitable for Sevens rugby, so the union has decided to commence the rugby season with the William Blackman Men’s 15-a-side tournament and the Women’s 10-a-side tournament Saturday.

The opening Women’s 10-a-side game will feature teams from current champions, Yamaha Caribs, and Pepsi Hornets, starting at 3:00 pm and the opening Men’s 15s will feature Pepsi Hornets against the Guyana Defence Force starting at 4:00 pm.
Match Commissioner for the tournament will be Shane Grant-Stuart.

The Men’s 15s tournament and Women’s 10s tournament will continue every Saturday and conclude on Saturday, April 30.
Meanwhile, the 15s tournament is in preparation for the North American & Caribbean Rugby Association (NACRA) Championships. The NACRA 15s Championships will be separated between North & South Caribbean.

The first round of the Southern competition will begin on April 16 between Barbados and St. Lucia to be followed by BVI vs St. Vincent and the Grenadines on April 19. Guyana will play its first championship game of the second round against Trinidad & Tobago in Trinidad on May 28 and will host the winner of the first round in Guyana at the National Stadium on June 11.

The winner of the second round of the Southern tournament of the NACRA Championship will play the winner of the second round of the Northern tournament in the Finals of the Championships in July, on a date and venue yet to be decided. Trinidad & Tobago are the current NACRA 15s Champions and Guyana are rated number 2 in the Caribbean.

Guyana’s National 15s squad will be called to training at the conclusion of the 15s tournament on April 30 by the Selection Committee under the Chairmanship of  Mike Mc Cormack.