BEHARRY Group of Companies, known for their generosity to the sport of rugby, yesterday stepped up a notch when they donated US$10 000 towards to the Guyana Rugby Football Union (GRFU) National 7s rugby team’s preparation for the 2016 Olympic qualifiers. “It really is an honour and a pleasure to sponsor the rugby team again. Their professionalism and dedication along with their passion for the sport is why we continue to support them,” exclaimed an enthusiastic Anjuli Beharry-Strand, the entity’s Marketing Director.

At a simple but significant presentation held at the company’s Charlotte Street Georgetown headquarters, witnessed by players and executives of the GRFU, marked the largest contribution the team has ever received from the private sector.
Beharry’s donation now sees the GRFU covering approximately 70% of the estimated US$100 000 needed to send the team to the June 13–14 North American and Caribbean Rugby Association (NACRA) 7s Championship in North Carolina USA.
Apart from the Beharry Group of Companies, the GRFU said that the bulk of their support has come from the Guyana Olympic Association (GOA), with the body also taking care of the financial obligation for recently-acquired Technical Director Angus Thompson.
“I’ve personally watched them play, I’ve watched them practise and I’ve had the pleasure of sitting down and chatting with most of them individually and I must say that they’re really dedicated to what they do,” Beharry-Strand pointed out.
The company’s Marketing Director also noted that there is “not enough invested in Sports here in Guyana, unfortunately. Because there is so much talent out there, it’s a shame. So to even be able to send these gentlemen out there to make a name for Guyana and do us proud, it’s such a pleasure as a company and we will continue to support the team and we wish them all of the best of luck.”
Head coach Theodore Henry further thanked Beharry for what he said is a show of continued confidence in the team, adding that with their (Beharry) tangible support, “I can guarantee that the heights that this team has reached in the past few years would not have been possible without your support”.
“In the same breath, I want to ask others to show the same faith in us so that we can surpasse where we’re at right now and move on to even bigger things.
“One of my goals as a coach is to be on the international scene on a consistent basis and in order for that to be accomplished, we need a whole lot of financial support to play more competitive games, rather than playing regional competition, because when you play on the international scene it’s two different levels of play; so consistent play equals results but it requires consistent financial support as well,” Henry said.
Patron of the GRFU Kit Nascimento, the driving force behind the side’s push to have maximum funding from both the private and sectors, reminded that the National 7s rugby team is the only sporting team in Guyana that can still qualify for the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro next year, claiming that “no other team can do that and we’ve earned the right to be at the tournament that will allow us do so. That in itself is a huge achievement”.

(By Rawle Toney)