Hairoun Beer/GRFU 7s Tourney...Pepsi Hornets’’ Kelvin McKenzie applaud GRFU as 2018 season scrums off

Hairoun Beer/GRFU 7s Tourney…Pepsi Hornets’’ Kelvin McKenzie applaud GRFU as 2018 season scrums off

Mar 26, 2018 Sports

By Franklin Wilson
Captain of Pepsi Hornets Rugby Club which defeated top Trinidad and Tobago side, Harvard Rugby Club in the Guyana Rugby Football Union (GRFU) season opening Sevens one-day competition sponsored by Hairoun Beer, has complimented the union for an insightful competition which augurs well for the development of the sport.

Hornets on the run against Harvarad at the National Park Athletics Field on Saturday.

Kelvin McKenzie, who is based in Australia, speaking with the media following their historic win on Saturday evening last at the athletics Field of the National Park, was still exhausted after the victory but mustered the energy to share his thoughts of the day’s activity with the media.
“The level of the tournament and what was at stake is the first time this ever happened in Guyana and I was not going to let this opportunity slip by. All the other teams really showed the level that was missing from Guyana’s rugby for probably two years.”
The plain spoken McKenzie posited that had the players been exposed to the level of rugby displayed on Saturday – prior to Mexico last October, the final outcome would have been different.
The Harvard team had on its side one of Guyana’s best, former Captain Claudius Butts but he was not able to contest the entire final having been pulled from proceedings early in the first half of the match. But even his {Butts} teammates efforts was not enough to get them past the rock solid Hornets which won 10-0 on account of respective tries in each half from McKenzie himself and David Falencia.
It was also the first time, McKenzie stated that he and Butts were on opposing sides, informing that even in Trinidad and Tobago they played for the same team. He said that he was not going to allow his fellow Guyanese and his T&T team to prevail over the local side.
T&T based Ronald Mayers was also part of the Hornets makeup for Saturday’s competition and McKenzie stated that his presence along with the other quality players on their roster carried them through to the big prize.
McKenzie who commenced his career in 1999 said he would like to see more guidance from the administration going forward.

Action in the Harvard vs Panthers match, Guyanese Claudius Butts on the attack.

“We need more rugby in Guyana, last year the first tournament was played in November, how is that possible? We need more tournaments like this, Guyana is the leading sevens team since 2005 to date, teams have been lining up to come to Guyana. But this is a start and a positive one.”
Hornets pocketed the first place prize of $200,000 while Harvard collected $150,000. The Most Valuable Player of the tournament was Hornets’ Abdoola Silverstone who received a medal and $20,000.
Leading up to the final, Hornets had arrested Police Falcons 19-0 and trounced Panthers 21-7. Harvard had taken care of the challenges of Caribs 29-10, Panthers 22-10 and GDF twice, 36-7 and 47-0. In other results, Panthers defeated Caribs 19- 0, GDF got past Police in 40-10 and Panthers beat GDF, 24-10.

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