“Conditioning is our focus for now”- Coach Henry

Jul 20, 2021 Sports

RAN 7s 2021…

By Calvin Chapman

Kaieteur News – Theodore Henry, the head coach of Guyana’s senior men’s rugby team; the ‘Green Machine’, held the training squad’s first session on Saturday afternoon at the National Park to assess his players’ fitness levels ahead of a grueling three-month preparation for the 2021 Rugby Americas North (RAN) Sevens tourney that is scheduled to be host in Turks & Caicos, this October 16 & 17.

The national training squad undergoing a training session yesterday.

Henry shared with Kaieteur Sport that while he was not happy with some of the players’ level of condition, some were decent. However, he wasn’t too dejected because these players would’ve been inactive for quite some time, some as much as close to two years after the Covid-19 pandemic had forced the shutdown of sports in Guyana, while the covid-19 task force has been strict with their guidelines.
Following Saturday’s fitness assessment, Henry, who is a certified fitness trainer and active fitness instructor, revealed that the Green Machine will be focusing exclusively on strength and conditioning for the next three weeks, with the ultimate aim being to bring all the players up to par.

Theodore Henry

Jamal Angus

Senior player in the side, Jamal Angus, who has captain the Green Machine several times, explained that with some of the usual suspects in nations like Jamaica, Barbados, Trinidad & Tobago and the Cayman Islands have been confirmed to play, this year’s tournament may prove to be a bit more difficult for Guyana than usual.
Angus is of this belief because not all of the RAN nations have been inactive and for those that have not been competing, he is certain that they would’ve been able to maintain their fitness and strength. He referenced Mexico and Jamaica’s recent activity in the Olympic qualifiers but remained optimistic of Guyana being match fit under the instruction of coach Henry for the grand showdown this October.
The Guyana Rugby Football Union (GRFU) shortly after receiving an invitation to participate in this year’s RAN 7s announced a 34-member training squad that began training last weekend.