TRUE to their motto ‘Committed to Excellence’, beverage giant Banks DIH Limited showed just that yesterday when the company maintained its support for the Guyana Rugby Football Union (GRFU) by throwing its support behind the national 15s squad who will engage Barbados on Saturday. Sales and Marketing Executive of Banks DIH, Carlton Joao, said he was pleased to be associated with the GRFU. “I am quiet happy to be associated with the GRFU, even though it’s a closely guarded secret that they are not getting any support. I believe the support will come in the future, as long as the successes they have been enjoying on the field continue.”
Having defeated Trinidad and Tobago (T&T) 22-20 in the Twin Island Republic last week, Guyana will engage Barbados in the final of the Southern Caribbean Rugby Championships at the Guyana National Stadium on Saturday, and Banks DIH ensured they will do so, using the PowerAde icy tonic drink.
Once Guyana defeat their opponents from the Land of the Flying Fish, they will advance to the North America and Caribbean Rugby Association’s (NACRA) 15s final, where they will engage and host Bermuda who won the North American half of the tournament with a 26-7 demolition over Mexico, sometime next month.
“Their more recent success against Trinidad and Tobago which catapulted Guyana into the world rankings is not only commendable, but also highlights the hard work being put in by the GRFU to ensure Guyana maintain their supremacy on the field of play in this part of the rugby nation,” said Joao.
He continued, “The growth of the sport has been tremendous despite the experience at last year’s Commonwealth Games in India, which to my mind is a learning curve we all have to go through from which we can come out a stronger team.
Banks DIH is pleased to be associated with the GRFU for Saturday’s encounter, where fans will see the players and officials cooling their temperature with the PowerAde brand of icy tonic drink and when they are successful and have advanced to the overall finals in July, we will be by their side, as they have displayed excellence on the field of play, to which we are committed.”
President of the GRFU, Christopher ‘Kit’ Nascimento, was high in praise for the beverage company, which he says has never failed to come on board with rugby when asked.
“I am pleased that Banks DIH has agreed to partner with us once again. We had a very successful partnership during the hosting of the Central American and Caribbean Championships (CAC) as well as the NACRA 7s tournaments last year which Guyana won.
From that time to now, Banks DIH has been a major sponsor of rugby football in Guyana and now they will be playing a major role in the hosting of what can be described as a very important game in the history of Guyana’s rugby football annals on Saturday,” stated Nascimento.
The GRFU head, who also heads the West Indies Rugby Football Union (WIRFU), said Guyana is faced with a must-win situation on Saturday, if they intend to advance to the finals, as a loss would see T&T going on to host and play Bermuda.
Nascimento recalled the vociferous support given to the Twin Island Republic team when the Guyanese faced them, saying “ A deafening roar erupted around the venue whenever Trinidad scored a try or even touched the ball and we had to work hard to silence such a crowd. With that in mind, I am calling on all Guyanese to come out on Saturday, wear your green and support the national rugby team.
“It will be 80 minutes of exciting rugby football of the highest standard in the Caribbean, as Barbados are a strong team who lost narrowly to T&T, while we defeated the Trinidadians, and according to the statistics, Barbados must win by 13 points if they wish to make it to the final ahead of T&T.”
Meanwhile, national rugby coach Theodore Henry expressed confidence that his charges will come out on top over the Barbadians.
“We are keeping our cool during the training sessions we had, following our return from Trinidad. We have also been working assiduously as we expect Barbados to bring it to us, while at the same time, working to eliminate the errors that were committed in the game against Trinidad.
“The fitness level in the team is very high, as we have been working on that aspect of the game as well as the line outs as we seek to go forward and continue to make Guyana proud in the sport of rugby football, as we have been doing in recent years” said Henry.
The three T&T-based players, Richard Staglon, Ronald Mayers and Ryan Hinckson, will join the team at least 24 hours before kick-off, with Staglon and Mayers doing so on Thursday and Hinckson Friday morning.
Guyana’s Terrence Grant will be making his debut as a match commissioner for Saturday’s encounter which will be refereed by Bermuda’s Keith Hodgkins who is expected to arrive on Thursday.
Admission to Saturday’s game is free and while the Guyanese are currently in training at the National Park, the 22-man squad will be trimmed to 15 and announced sometime tomorrow.