… GRFU receives $3M for airfare

THANKS to the generosity of the Guyana Olympic Association (GOA), Guyana will be represented at the North America Caribbean Rugby Association (NACRA) 7s Championship, to be held in Mexico City, Mexico, from December 3 to 4.The GOA, yesterday, at its High Street, Kingston head office, handed over a cheque valued $3M to the Guyana Rugby Football Union (GRFU) to aid in the purchase of the team’s airfare; something president K. A. Juman-Yassin said was compulsory, based on the track record the sport holds locally and internationally.
Guyana won five consecutive championships from 2006 to 2011, losing to Mexico in 2012 and lack of funding kept the Caribbean’s best 7s Rugby team out of the competition last year.
“We look forward wth great anticipation and we wish this team all the best,” Yassin said before making the significant presentation to GRFU president Peter Greene.
“This is a joyous occasion,” Greene pointed out, adding “last year was sad for us because we lost an opportunity to defend our CAC Games title and a chance to play again at the Commonwealth Games.”
In 2010, Guyana’s Sevens Rugby team carved their way into history when they claimed the first Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Sevens Rugby title by defeating Jamaica 31-7 at the Guyana National Stadium at Providence.
It was the first time that the Central American and Caribbean Sports Organisation (CACSO) had added Rugby (Sevens) to the list of sports since 1926.
“We have proved to the world that we can compete with the best nations who are far more superior. We had beaten core teams like China, drawn with France and lost a close battle to Australia. I must say thank you to the GOA for this and this means a lot us,” Greene said.
Greene, one of Guyana’s hard-working administrators, believes that other sponsors should not look at supporting the 7s team as just another sponsorship, but also as an investment in one of the most successful sport teams the country has ever produced.
Considered as the region’s number one rugby nation, Greene said that Guyana stand a 99.5% chance of winning the tournament which serves as a qualifier for the Pan Am Games in Canada next year, with further qualification to the Olympic Games in Rio.

(Rawle Toney)