It’s not going to be easy, says coach Henry
GUYANA will host Bermuda on Wednesday, June 22, as the two sides do battle for the North American and Caribbean Rugby Association (NACRA) Caribbean 15s Title at the Guyana National Stadium, Providence.
Bermuda disposed of Mexico 26-7 while Guyana downed Barbados 20-7 to set up the grand finale which is expected to be a hotly contested affair, given the fact that at stakes, apart from bragging rights and the glossy silverware, is the top seed ranking for next year’s 15s Rugby World Cup Regional Qualifiers.
The match will be played for the first time; at least for the Guyanese, under floodlights at Guyana’s premier sporting venue.
Speaking with Chronicle Sport on Thursday, coach of the home team Theodore Henry said: “It’s a whole different ball game and I must say it’s not going to be easy”.
Henry, a player known not only for his standout lengthy dreadlocks, but also for his bullish way on field, has since had a successful start to his portfolio as head coach of the Guyana National Rugby team, first defeating Trinidad and Tobago and then Barbados.
The Guyanese are holders of five Caribbean titles in the game’s shortest format (7s), winning them consecutively and over that period have been the success story for Rugby in the Caribbean.
They have played in two IRB USA 7s World Series tournament and were the only regional side at the Commonwealth Games, but all that would mean nothing next week, according Henry, stating “this is another chapter and a whole different kind of game as compared to all that”.
“I can’t remember correctly, but if my memory serves me right, I think the last time we played them in 15s, we beat them 20-0,” said Henry, when asked to assess his opponents but he also noted that a lot has changed since then.
“They are now a powerhouse in 15s Rugby in the Caribbean. When we played them was during the phase when they were now putting together their structure for 15s and I must say that they are no pushovers now, so, we are not going to take things likely,” Henry said.
Guyana have lost once over the past five years in Rugby; suffering that defeat during the preliminaries of the 2010 7s championships to Jamaica.
Still Henry remains confident that his side knows the importance of next week’s challenge and while they were given the time off, they will now head into game mode.
“We will meet and take a look at the game against Barbados on tape to see where and what we did and went wrong so we could correct them on the field.
The mood of the players is always in game mode because we are talking about seasoned players here and so they all know when they have to shift all attention to the game at hand,” said the Guyanese coach.
The team  was due to have a game under lights at the Georgetown Football Club (GFC) ground yesterday which Henry reckons was highly important.
“I think this practice will be the only one we’ll actually have under lights and we need to make sure that we adjust to it well. It’s a whole different game for rugby to be played under lights and for us it’s a big deal so, we’ll be taking it very seriously,” Henry said.
He added that Guyana will be in training  until Tuesday “trying to get our systems and runs right because we are looking to make a statement and win this competition on a high. It’s not about us going out there to win another title, but it’s going out there and playing for the people, who have always been there for us and supporting us over the years”
Scrum-off time is 18:00hrs and Guyana Rugby Football Union (GRFU) president, Kit Nascimento in a release, has called on all fans heading to the national stadium this week to wear green in support of their national  team.