Former Rugby boss Col. Lewis MSM passes

Apr 09, 2020 Sports

Army reserve Colonel (Ret’d) John Percy Lewis MSM (Military Service Medal) passed away Tuesday evening to plunge the local sports fraternity into deeper sorrow after losing the battle to a suspected COVID-19 health complication.

Colonel (Ret’d) John Percy Lewis MSM

Lewis, a former rugby champion, served for at least a decade as the President of the Guyana Rugby Football Union (GRFU) while being actively involved in some capacity for years. Secretary of the Union, Terry Grant, highlighted during an invited comment with Kaieteur Sport that his experience with Lewis was a very pleasant one, “You ask anyone, any player and they will tell you how helpful John was. John was a very good man. Anytime you called him for assistance whether rugby related or not, he was there to lend a helping hand.”
Terry recounted that throughout the late 80s, himself, Carl Beresford and Lewis were very instrumental in keeping the sport alive in Guyana. Col. (Ret’d) Lewis’ greatest achievements on the rugby pitch would include the moment when he captained the Rugby West Indies 15s side to their first tour of England in August 1976 with the regional side only travelling back to the United Kingdom once more, 25 years later.

Col. (Ret’d) John Lewis (centre) accepting a donation of uniforms on behalf of the women’s rugby team.

The University of the West Indies educated Civil Engineer was part of GRFU’s all-conquering 15s side that swept the 1971 Caribbean Championships that was hosted here in Guyana. During that campaign, Guyana played throughout with the same 15s lineup without making a single substitution; a feat that Grant believes will never be emulated.
Lewis also served as the match commissioner for the GRFU, a role that he was trying to pass on for a couple of years, but according to Grant, “To now fill this void will take quite a lot.” Grant further mourned, expressing that, “It hurts even more that John only buried his wife last Tuesday. My heartfelt sympathies go out to his family and friends. I hope that God will give his family the strength to make it through this difficult period.”
“John was a very helpful man. Anytime you called him for assistance he was there to lend a helping hand.”

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