Guyana ‘Ruggers’ reclaim 15’s title after 43 years in Wilderness ‘Hardest game ever at International level’- Guyana Skipper Gonsalves

Jul 02, 2014 Sports

By Sean Devers
Guyana’s ‘Green Machine’ Rugby Captain Ryan Gonsalves fired the decisive penalty kick to lift his team to an exhilarating 30-27 victory last Saturday when the South Americans came up against number one ranked USA Panthers at the Life University Rugby Complex in Marietta, Atlanta, Georgia to take the North American and Caribbean Rugby Association (NACRA) Men’s 15 Rugby title.
“This was the hardest International game I have ever played and I first must thank God for our victory since without him nothing is possible,” a beaming Gonsalves told the Media yesterday during a press conference at Olympic House.

GRFU President Peter Green is flanked by National Rugby Captain Ryan Gonsalves (right) & Manager Kenneth Grant-Stuart with the NACRA trophy

The Guyanese unit was dominated by the Americans in the opening half when the hosts scored 24 points to their eight and seemed to be cruising to victory before a never-say-die attitude by Guyana saw them score 22 second half points while the USA only managed three points.
“We kept putting pressure on their back line in the second half …we never gave up. The senior guys like myself, Richard Staglon, Rondell Mayers, Claudius Butts and Vallon Adams were supported by the younger ones and this is just the starting of things to come as we once again proved we are the best Guyanese sporting team in the last six years,” Gonsalves added.
“This is our greatest victory even though we have dominated in the seven’s format, 15’s is like Test cricket to T20s and it is a big thing to win a 15’s title against a team like the USA.
We have never won an International 15’s championship in 43 years and the win has completed us now on the World stage. We are now ranked 15 in the World and would like to thank all of those who supported us to make our trip possible,” Gonsalves disclosed.
Even up to the last minute a cloud hung over the team’s participation due to a lack of funds until NACRA offered to pay the team’s passage and hotel accommodation while the Guyanese community in Atlanta pooled together to pull for the ‘Green Machine’.
President of the Guyana Association Dr. William Thompson and members Marva Jacobs and Andria Fraser made timely donations when little funds were available.
“I must commend the guys for sticking to the task at hand even when we were not sure we were going. We tried to not let the administrative side of things get to us and remained focused on making our country proud if we got the chance,” the Guyana Captain explained.
According to Gonsalves, John Fernandes Ltd provided financial assistance towards the VISA Application Fees while Caribbean Containers Inc., New GPC Inc, Banks DIH Ltd, Noble House Seafoods, Bank of Nova Scotia, GT&T and the US Embassy all contributed towards the team’s trip.
Team Manager Kenneth Grant-Stuart, who last played in the 2001 NACRA Championships, said despite the off-the field hurdles the team had to face, the miracles started to unfold and continued especially in the second half when Guyana could have been easily overawed by the Americans.
“It was unbelievable to see the young players step up to the task. Even when we were told we might not be going everyone chipped in…..the $1,000 from the man in the street, to the contribution from some old Rugby players from Tutorial. I am proud and we paid them back by returning home with the NACRA Trophy,” Grant-Stuart pointed out.
He added that the win gives Guyana the right to host matches next year but says the team needs to play more International matches and needs more support from the Government as they prepare to defend their sixth 7’s title in Mexico.
Guyana Rugby Football Union (GRFU) President Peter Green disclosed that the ‘Union’ has been carefully planning for this since January and it was never ‘I’ but ‘we’. We have embarked on a youth development programme for 60 young players.
“We withdrew our Under-19 team from the tournament in Trinidad because we did not want to just take part for the sake of participating. We plan to have them play in December when they are better prepared and stand a realistic chance of winning. We missed out last year in the 7’s Championships. This year the 7’s tournament is fixed for December in Mexico and it will be such a shame if we don’t go this time,” Green added.
The GRFU will not have to repay NACRA for offsetting the cost of Guyana’s airfare or accommodation and Green claims that the North side is much richer than the South and the distribution of funds is not a fair one.
The Government failed to contribute to the team’s trip to the USA but Director of Sport of the National Sports Commission (NSC) was a part of the welcoming party on the team’s arrival.
“We have appealed to Government for assistance and were disappointed that they could not assist but the NSC has a new criteria for providing funds to national teams. One requirement is applying for funds in a timely manner which we were not able to do due to late notification from NACRA. We have set up a vibrant Marketing and fund raising programme since we continue to make Guyana proud and we are confident that they will give us something,” Green said.
In 2008, Guyana were runners-up of the 15’s tournament to Trinidad in the Cayman Islands.