–Guyana to play at Hong Kong 7s and CAC Games

IT was their only defeat at the Rugby Americas North (RAN) Sevens Championship in Mexico, and it came when more than losing their title was on the line.

Guyana, six-time holders and defending champions, fell 24 – 28 to Jamaica last evening at the Campo Marte athletic grounds in Mexico City.

Apart from relinquishing their title to the Jamaican rugby team which had 12 UK-born and based players, it will hurt the Guyanese more, knowing that they also missed an opportunity to play at the 2018 IRB Sevens World Cup.

The Jamaicans will join host USA and Canada as RAN’s representatives at the July 20 – 22 event, which is dubbed the ‘Holy Grail’ for Sevens rugby.

With the win, Jamaica will also pick up RAN’s final spot for the Commonwealth Games. Guyana featured at the 2010 Commonwealth Games.

Guyana, however, by finishing second, will make another appearance at the Hong Kong Sevens (April 6 – 8) in Japan, as well as the Central American and Caribbean Games (CAC) in Barranquilla, Colombia (July 29 – August 3). In 2010, the ‘Green Machine’ won Guyana’s lone gold medal at the CAC Games, when they defeated Jamaica 31 – 7 in the finals.