NATIONAL Rugby head Coach, Stephen Lewis, told Guyana Chronicle that while the results in the recently concluded Rugby America North (RAN) Sevens was not as expected, it was the beginning of the rebuilding phase for the squad.

The 2025 edition of the tournament, held in Trinidad and Tobago saw the green machine crash out in 6th place.
“[It was] a mixed weekend – some very good performances and a couple of disappointing ones; wins against Jamaica and Cayman Islands. We lost to Barbados in the quarter finals and then lost to Mexico in the final game 14-7. [Our] stand-out performer was Lionel Holder, the captain for the weekend and he performed really well. For the women, they beat Barbados and their final record was 2 wins and 4 losses; that is a good performance from them,” the head coach said.

He said the unit is still on the path to becoming powerhouses which will take some more time.
The head coach added, “So all in all, it’s a rebuilding programme at the moment, so this type of international experience is vital. These players can learn to improve in the programme and get better; so all in all a mixed weekend. Good to see Guyana back onto the international stage and competing.”
Mexico captured the women’s title after defeating Jamaica in the finals 22-19 with the Guyanese women playing the regional tournament again after nearly a decade finishing 5th place overall.
In the game for fifth place against Barbados, they won it 14-7.
Earlier in the competition they suffered a heavy loss to Trinidad 39-0 and Mexico 43-0.
They stopped Barbados 10-5, then went down to Bermuda narrowly 19-14 and then Jamaica 43-0.
Meantime, Canada beat Barbados 31-nil in the men’s finals.
Guyana’s men’s team reached the quarter final but lost to eventual finalist Barbados 36-5.
They bounced back thereafter to get one over arch rivals Jamaica 14-12 in another tense match-up.
Afterwards they faced off with Mexico in the 5th place match-up but lost narrowly in a nail-biting clash 12-7.
The Guyanese had beaten Cayman Islands 24-5 in their final group clash.
On the opening day on Friday, they battled Trinidad with that match-up ending 14-14 after a thrilling showdown.