Caribs 20th Anniversary Sevens competition...UG ruggers finish second in their first official competition

Caribs 20th Anniversary Sevens competition…UG ruggers finish second in their first official competition

Oct 31, 2012 Sports

The University of Guyana rugby players stamped their authority on the local scene with a second placed finish last Sunday in the team’s first official competition under UG’s banner.
Captain Rondel McArthur called the moment “pleasurable”, while their renowned coach, Lawrence Adonis, said that “all the hard work is paying off”.

Members of the University of Guyana team. From Left: Ryan Dojoy, Jamal Angus, Ryan Dey, Kiefer Lopes, Lancelot Adonis, Coach Lawrence Adonis, Rondel McArthur and Michael Anderson.

Playing in the Caribs 20th Anniversary Sevens competition at the National Park, UG defeated the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) team 17-7 before they lost to the Caribs in the virtual final 14-5.
The newest rugby team won three of the four individual awards: Lancelot Adonis won the fastest prop and longest punt kick trophies and Osie Mackenzie got an award for the longest plank.
Some of the university players had played before. They had also proven themselves in the past since McArthur made the national 15s team to Barbados early in the year. Another player, Ryan Dojoy, was selected for the squad, but he failed to make the final cut. McArthur, Adonis and Ryan Dey were also short-listed for a national sevens tour to Canada last August.
CAN BE THE BEST
The skipper sees great things for the side in the future: “UG can be the best team in the country and all of our players have the potential to make it to the national level.”
McArthur said that it was Coach Adonis who molded the team during the last few years. “Without coach it would not have happened. Almost everyone that started the team was fresh.”
Adonis, who has national coaching experience from under-16 to senior level, said that his boys are coming of age.
“This team has progressed tremendously in three short years. They can handle themselves against any other team and we have some potential national players,” he added with a smile.

UNDERSTANDING SCIENCE
Adonis disclosed that the UG team was different from other teams that he coached because they (the UG players) understood the science of the game better.
“Right now we are at a stage where we can beat the balance of the rugby community, because we try to track the science of the game with less focus on the brutal aspect of it.”
The university boys will continue training for upcoming events.