PEOPLE say money is everything and the Guyana Rugby Football Union (GRFU) president Kit Nascimento simply endorsed the saying at yesterday’s Press Conference held at the Guyana Olympic Association’s (GOA) head office. Nascimento and his executives briefed the local media on Guyana’s participation at the just-concluded USA leg of the IRB Sevens World Series, held at the Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas.
It was the team’s second outing in Vegas and certainly they would have wanted what happened in Vegas to stay in Vegas since they were outclassed in the five games played.
Grouped with England, Argentina and France, the Guyanese fell 49-0 to the English in the opening game of the tournament then were taken down 47-0 by their fellow South Americans, Argentina, and lost 57-7 to the French.
They went on to play Wales, losing 57-0 and the Japanese pipped them 24-7.
But yesterday’s Press Conference was not to say how they lost, according to Nascimento and player/coach and captain Theodore Henry. Guyana’s intention was never to win the cup which was eventually won by South Africa. It was basically to prove “we will do better when we’re better prepared!”.
Nascimento and his team argued that while their performance in Vegas this time around  was poor as compared to their first outing last year, they would have put up a bigger challenge if they were properly prepared.
In the North American and Caribbean Rugby Association (NACRA) region, Guyana are ranked No.3 behind the USA and Canada. They are also five-time winners of the Caribbean title and last year, claimed Guyana’s only gold medal at the Central American and Caribbean Games (CAC) and would have also competed at the Commonwealth Games in Delhi India.
Both Nascimento and Henry concurred on the fact that the players are way better than their regional counterparts since their talent has surpassed the others and as such, greater exposure is needed.
“If we are going to produce teams to compete at world-class level, then the nation will have to be  behind them, otherwise they wouldn’t compete for long. Exposure builds you to that level; we have got to be exposed now if we’re going to sustain our right to be in a World Cup. We have got to compete beyond the Caribbean,” said the GRFU president.
“I wouldn’t sit and try to make excuses in terms of the performance but with everything there is a process,” Henry said, as he reflected on his side’s rise to dominance in the Caribbean, adding “exposure and experience at the international level are very significant if we are to compete at a certain level.
“If we cannot be exposed with the right kind of games and garner experience playing against elite competition, we will not be able to compete until we are exposed to such”.
This newspaper asked, “What has the GRFU done/is doing/will be doing to remedy this situation?” and in response, Nascimento said, “We just need to get money to help them be better prepared.”
He explained that they have been actively trying to get the sport’s world governing body – International Rugby Board (IRB) – to put more resources into their funding and since he holds the distinction of being the only person from this region to sit on the IRB council, he’s aware of the procedure and again said, “but it takes time”.
“The IRB is now trying to universalise Rugby because it’s an Olympic sport and the essence of it being an Olympic sport is that every country should be able to play the game. But that isn’t going to happen for us (Guyana) because at the Olympic Games, 12 teams only will play,” Nascimento said.
The GRFU boss indicated that there will be a NACRA general meeting where several issues including funding will be discussed and Guyana will be represented.
However, Nascimento and the GRFU are of the opinion that Government could do more to aid their development, saying that of all the various disciplines being played in Guyana, cricket gets great emphasis and support.
But some might argue that  last year the Government through President Bharrat Jagdeo had given $5M to the GRFU to aid its team’s preparations for the Commonwealth Games where they played four matches.
First, they played Scotland, lost 26-0, faced eventual winners New Zealand which was the second meeting of the two, following their first clash in the 2010 Vegas series, and Guyana lost 52-0. The Guyanese also played Canada losing 26-0 but gave a creditable performance against Tonga where they were defeated 21-14.