“Don’t worry when you are not recognised, but strive to be worthy of recognition”, the words of Abraham Lincoln.

Lincoln might know a thing or two about being recognised; after all he’s probably one of America’s most famous Presidents who presided over the country during its bloodiest period in history (Civil War) and its greatest moral, constitutional and political crisis.

But how germane is Lincoln’s words to that of the accomplishment of Guyana’s National 7’s Rugby team and the Guyana Rugby Football Union (GRFU)?

Dubbed the “common sense Guy”, Bud Bilanich said “If you develop and nurture your unique personal brand, present yourself well and use the basic rules of etiquette consistently, you will become recognised as a person with positive personal impact. There are two keys here. First, work constantly and continually at creating positive personal impact. Second, realise that this won’t come overnight. You have to work at it”

Over the past decade, Guyana won seven North American and Caribbean Rugby Association (NACRA) 7’s Championships.

From 2006 to 2011, the men known as a ‘Green Machine’ ran riot on the rest of the NACRA nations, winning six championships but lost to Mexico in the finals of the 2012 Championship.

The GRFU could not have gather the money needed to send the team to the competition in 2013, so the region and NACRA’s most successful country was a no-show at the championships.

However, this year with the support from the Government of Guyana, the Guyana Olympic Association (GOA) and other members from both the private and public sector, the GRFU sent what they are calling the country’s best assembled 7’s team to the championship where they played undefeated and had a come from behind 33 – 28 victory against Mexico in the finals.

“I don’t know what more we need to do in terms of showing that we are the team to be recognised and given the rewards we deserve. Winning the 15’s and 7’s in the same calendar year is no small feat and if this was any other country, the Government and other bodies would’ve been there and be hyped about it,” explained Coach Theodore Henry in an interview with Chronicle Sport upon the team’s return to Guyana on Friday last.

“The GOA came on board and it’s obvious they recognise the ability of the rugby team. The Government came on board through the Minister of Finance and he actually said that he recognise the achievement of the Rugby fraternity but the fact remains that you need to get certain things in place.
If we’re going to bring in the youngsters and phase out the older guys, we need to put things in place for the younger players the things that are required to reach the heights that we have,” the outspoken rugby coach and player pointed out.

Henry is known for his exploits in Rugby and has played a part in every historic moment. He was also a member of the now defunct West Indies Rugby team along with the likes of Claudius Butts and Kevin McKenzie, all of whom are also prominent players for Guyana.

A showing at the Commonwealth Games (India) and the Pan American Games, the IRB World Series and also winning Guyana’s first and only team gold medal at the CAC Games are among the long list of accomplishments, of which Henry feels that if rugby in Guyana doesn’t get the respect and recognition it deserves from all, then it will definitely be lost.

Meanwhile, asked of the seven titles won at the NACRA 7’s tournament, which was the most memorable, Henry said “this one was special and the second time qualifying for the Pan American Games and putting us back on the world stage where I think we belong and like I told the guys before the tournament started; 2010 was like a learning curve for us because we won six years in a row and I thought the guys got a bit complacent in thinking that we can just turn up and the tournament will just be given to us, we learnt a hard lesson then; missing the CAC and Commonwealth Games it was daunting for the guys, so they wanted to make a statement in the tournament”.

He added, “The first is always the best championship but this one is special because we did something special this year. In the 15’s, we came from behind and defeated the USA at home, then we came from behind in Mexico and that was special.”

(By Rawle Toney)