NATIONAL coach Theodore Henry summed up Guyana’s year in Rugby with one word – phenomenal! 

One might want to argue that Henry, one of the faces of the sport in the Caribbean, is being a little overzealous about his team’s accomplishments but take a few minutes to reflect on the Green Machine’s achievements and the dreadlocked player/coach’s sentiments will certainly be echoed.
Phenomenal indeed was the team’s showing internationally as Guyana won both the North American and Caribbean Rugby Association (NACRA) 15s and 7s championships, becoming only the second team from the region to achieve such feats, following in the footsteps of Trinidad and Tobago who did so almost 13 years ago.
“Winning the 15s was big because we always wanted to win that tournament and what made it special is how we did it, where it happened and whom we defeated,” Henry said in an exclusive interview with Chronicle Sport yesterday.
Looking back with Henry, the where he spoke of is Atlanta, the who are the mighty USA (South) and how is Guyana coming from behind to win 30-27 in extra time, thanks to a clinically converted try by skipper Ryan Gonsalves.
But, according to Henry, when Guyana won their seventh NACRA 7s title against Mexico 33-28, it was a sign of more than just their dominance in the Caribbean but their hunger and desire to be the best in the sport that he admits gets little or no recognition.
Having won the tournament six consecutive times (2006 to 2011), Guyana lost to Mexico in 2012 and lack of funding kept the Caribbean’s best 7s Rugby team out of the competition last year.
Thanks to the Government of Guyana and several other entities in the private and public sectors, Guyana sent their best assembled team to the championship and as they say, ‘the rest is history’.
“The guys were disappointed in 2012 when we lost to Mexico and the fact we couldn’t go to the tournament in 2013; so we were hungry, very hungry to bring that title home, because it means a lot to us,” said Henry.
Up next for the Green Machine, according to Henry, is a trip to Asia where they would play in the International Rugby Board (IRB) Hong Kong Sevens which is considered a premier event on the world governing body’s sport calendar.
Guyana, in 2010, had competed in the similar tournament, but the Las Vegas (USA) leg against the top nations in the world.
“That tournament will be in March, so early in the new year, we will be preparing for that. The tournament will be good for us because after that, we have the NARCRA 7s again and we will have to defend our title and it’s important we win because that’s our path to the Olympics,” Henry noted.
The National coach explained that the winner of the NACRA tournament will have a place at the RIO Olympic Games in 2016 but the losers will still stand a chance in a continental playoff.
Guyana have never fielded a team in any ‘team-playing’ sport in the history of the Olympic Games and should the 7s Rugby team qualify, it will be unprecedented.
“I can’t think of how it will feel making the Olympics, but that’s the last thing we want to think about. First, we have to prepare ourselves for a tough outing because the USA and Canada will be playing and they are no pushovers, so we will have to work harder than ever before.”
A trip to Canada in July is also on the table for the Caribbean’s top 7s side to compete in the 2015 Pan American Games.