Guyana, Bermuda ready for intriguing clash tonight
THE highly anticipated North America and Caribbean Rugby Association (NACRA) 15s Caribbean Championships final is here and host Guyana and Bermuda are evenly poised to lift the coveted title but there can be only one champion. Battle ground Guyana National Stadium is ready to host what is called one of the most highly anticipated matchups in regional rugby, from 18:00hrs, with Bermuda calling themselves the underdogs and Guyana simply looking to add a title which has been eluding them in recent times.
“We came here to win,” exclaimed Bermuda coach Lawrence Bird while Guyana’s Theodore Henry said “we got this” when they were both invited to comment on tonight’s game by Chronicle Sport.
“I’m not going to travel this far to get second. Like I said to the guys, we’re not here for a tea party, but with that said, we have full respect for Guyana. It’s a big pitch, we’re away from home, but despite that if our attitude is right on the day it’s going to be a very exciting game,” Bird explained while speaking at his team’s practice yesterday at the National Park Rugby Field.
Henry who, unlike Bird, is still on his introductory period as head coach of the Guyana Rugby team, said that his team is more than ready for tonight’s game, adding that “the guys are all focused and pumped-up for this game. “We don’t except them to come here to be pushed over by us, so we will be playing very hard because it’s not like the last time we beat them three years ago.”.
Guyana and Bermuda last met in 2008 when the later were defeated in the semi-finals of the Caribbean Championships while the Guyanese went on to lose to Trinidad and Tobago in the final.
However, Bird said that his side has changed a lot since then. He added that in 2008 they didn’t have the same pool of players they have now and feels that his unit is better put together this year to combat Guyana.
The Guyanese are holders of five Caribbean titles in the game’s shortest format (7s), winning them consecutively and have over that period been the success story for Rugby in the Caribbean.
But Bird said while his opponents’ success in the sport is being taken into consideration, 7s and 15s are “totally different games; but clearly it shows what a great pool of athletes Guyana’s got as compared to us, so we would expect them to want to play to that strength. So that’s difficult for us and we have been doing a lot of work trying to defend that, but it’s hard when you don’t have that kind of speed to practise against”.
Bermuda faced Bahamas and Mexico on their way to tonight’s final which was described as “tough” by Bird.
The mood in the Guyanese camp seems pretty high on optimism of a victory. Henry speaking before his practice session yesterday said the guys are relaxed and that he’s only going to “walk them through a few plays so we can get Ryan Hinckson who joined us from Trinidad, to get a bit familiar, but with that,it’s just game time for us”.
But Bermuda are classing themselves as ‘underdogs’, with Bird saying, “It’s always an advantage for the underdogs because you got nothing to lose. I expect us to win. I want us to win but looking at us against Guyana, not everyone wants that, so I think we can use that to our advantage – certainly”
“We have a general idea of how each of us plays but it’s going to come down on the night to where the ball lands, who makes the first hit and those things will determine a lot tomorrow (tonight).”
While the Bermudans are used to playing night rugby in their domestic league, for Guyana it will be a first. The home side only had one session under lights last Sunday, and Bird said playing domestically and internationally under the lights are two different things.
“Yea we play some night rugby back home, but as a team/country, we have never played at this level under floodlights. A lot is different in night rugby, I mean, the pleasure vision varies and so it will be good to see how they all adapt especially Guyana because it’s a first for them, but it all adds to the excitement,” said Bird.
Touching on the playing venue, Bird said, “I know the pitch is very wide. There’s a maximum width you can have and I think it’s set out to the max which is again good because if I was Guyana that’s what I would do, so again I fully respect that and we’re up for it (challenge).
“We know it’s a cricket pitch in the middle and we have that in Bermuda at our national stadium and so we know what to expect..”
Guyana team: Jason Tyrell (prop), Allain Crawford (hooker), Rondel McArthur (prop), Walter George (second row), Avery Corbin (second row), Richard Staglon (wing forward), Dwayne Schroeder (wing-forward), Clive Prowell ( lock), Ryan Gonsalves (scrum Half), Peabo Hamilton (stand-off), Claudius Butts    (capt.), Elwin Chase, Kevin McKenzie, Breon Walks and Ryan Hinckson.
Substitutes: Leon Greaves, Rickford Cummings, Rodwell Hutson, Dillion Downer, Vallon Adams, Troy Arjune and Delroy Gordon.
Bermuda squad: Paul Dobinson, Allan Steynor, Dustin Archibald, Thomas Greenslade, Mike Williams, Aldo Campbell, David Rourke, Bobby Hurdle, Conor McGlynn, Gareth Williams Kris Furbert, Pete Dunlop, Peter Dunkerley, Tom Healy, Chris Naylor, Scott Cobon, Tom Edwards, Mark Dymond, Neville Zuill, Jack Ellison, David Porter and Alun Thomas.