RUGBY fans in Guyana will now have to wait a little longer to witness the highly-anticipated clash between the ‘Green Machine’ and USA South in the Rugby Americas North (RAN) 15’s final.

The historic game and the second meeting between the two countries, initially slated for Saturday July 1, will now be contested on Saturday July 29.

While the Guyana Rugby Football Union (GRFU) has been tightlipped with regards to details surrounding the match, a source stated that the USA team asked for more time, since securing flights to Guyana and proper accommodation at short notice had proven to be a challenge.

The move now gives the GRFU enough time to secure a proper venue, with their usual stomping ground at the National Park always being questionable, as the case with their recent game against Trinidad and Tobago which had to be played at a water-logged Saint Stanislaus College ground on Carifesta Avenue.

Two years ago, Guyana’s National Rugby team, popularly known as the ‘Green Machine’, etched their names in the history books after edging the mighty USA South to claim their maiden Rugby Americas North (RAN) (formerly North American and Caribbean Rugby Association) 15s title with a come-from-behind 30-27 win.

Guyana will have a chance to not only reclaim the title that was won by Mexico last year, but also do something that several teams in RAN have never done; beat the USA twice.

After Guyana outclassed Trinidad and Tobago 24-17 on June 10, they were preparing for a trip to Mexico City to face Mexico who were tipped to beat the Cayman Islands.

However, the game proved how unpredictable sports could be, since the Cayman Islands emerged winners 39-17 over the Mexicans, which means that the Americans were crowned RAN’s North Zone champions.

The visit by the USA will mark their first to Guyana and their second in the Caribbean after travelling to Trinidad and Tobago in 2013 where they left with the RAN 15s title; winning 26-18.

The Americans will want to exact revenge for their 2014 defeat to Guyana in Atlanta Georgia, in rather dramatic fashion.

The good thing for Guyana is that their squad of players who had beaten the USA are still playing together and had improved in the 15s format.

Guyana is known for its dominance in the game’s shortest format (Sevens), but since their win against the USA in 2014, the GRFU had made a commitment to have their National side pay more emphasis on 15s Rugby.
Since then, the Green Machine have won back-to-back South Zone titles, and missed out on winning a second overall RAN 15s title when they went down 32-3 against Mexico last year.