THE National Men’s rugby team successfully completed their warm-up matches in New York with three successful wins and will now head to Carey, North Carolina for the North American Caribbean Rugby Association 7s series and Olympic qualifiers.The side, according to coach Theodore Henry, were scheduled to practise several new techniques they picked up during the lead-up to the championship. Speaking prior to his departure Henry indicated that the local players were able to learn the new tactics and that the only thing left to do was to ensure that the overseas-based guys understood the plays, hence the warm-up games.
The men’s team includes captain Richard Staglon as well as Dwayne Schroeder, Vallon Adams, Claudius Butts, Patrick King, Ronald Mayers, Avery Corbin, Lancelot Adonis, Rickford Cummings, Ryan Gonsalves, Travis Bascom, and Peabo Hamilton. John Lewis is the manager of the team while Henry is the coach and Phillip Browne, the strength and conditioning specialist.
Guyana are drawn in Pool B alongside Canada, Trinidad and Tobago, the Cayman Islands and the Bahamas while the B Pool includes Mexico, the United States, Barbados, Jamaica and St Vincent. The ruggers’ first game is against the Bahamas on June 13 at the Main Stadium.
The ladies, on the other hand, used the time to continue training and internal games.
The ladies named are Carrin Carter as captain, Collette Hope, Sabola Gray, Carren Skeete, Andrea Lashley, Helen Jarvis, Alicia Blackman, Cloetta Dublin, Olana Reece, Alanna Fraser and Ashanti Carrington. Chase is the coach while Petal Adams is the team manager and Abiola Blair is the physiotherapist.
The ladies are in Pool B with the Bahamas, Trinidad and Tobago and Mexico while Pool A has the United States, the Cayman Islands, Jamaica and Barbados. The ladies open their tournament with a game against Trinidad and Tobago at the Koka Booth stadium before they play Mexico later and close off against the Bahamas. (Stephan Sookram).