By Treiston Joseph
The Edward B. Beharry Group of Companies on Wednesday came to the aid of the national rugby team in an effort to help the ruggers’ participation in the Hong Kong Sevens set for next month.
At the press conference, President of the Guyana Rugby Football Union, Peter Green, noted that the government, who supported the ruggers through the National Sports Commission (NSC), needs to match the sponsorship of companies such as Beharry if the team is to really be successful.
“Our Hong Kong trip has been taken care of, but the preparation in America in costly and we have been trying to gain funds for that aspect, but besides the National Sports Commission with a small piece, Beharry our brand which supports Sevens rugby for the past several years came on board and assisted with a significant contribution that will help with the costs and its very important that the union and players understand this,” Green said.
He added, “China is a nation that the government is pumping more than 200 million US (US$200m) in the sport and that is what is needed, nevertheless, once our boys do well on this stage and I expect them too, there is a plus and minus because one they do well they will be away from home for nine months on the world circuit but we do not know how will take care of the dependents because we are a none-profit organisation… we have said it before and we will say it again we need to have the government fully involved and them match our sponsors dollar for dollar if not more.”
Brands Manager of the Beharry Group of Companies, Monique Tiwari, indicated that the company is pleased to be onboard with a team that has made the country proud.
“Edward B. Beharry is proud to support the union on their journey to Hong Kong; we are proud of your accomplishments and wish you the best of luck on your journey,” Tiawari briefly stated.
Meanwhile, Coach of the squad, Kenneth Grant Stuart, has confidence that the team can do well in Hong Kong, judging from the preparation the players have gone through, noting that the team is about 85% ready and will use the New York exposure to put the final pieces of the puzzle in place.
Ryan Gonsalves, who made a return to the captaincy for this tournament, is confident that his leadership skills can channel this group of players to success.
“This is nothing new for me and I think the players here are familiar with the Hong Kong circuit, there are a lot of good teams and it will be tough because these teams are constantly playing while we have to wait once a year to play rugby, but I think once we can get up to the pace of the game which is something that really hinders us because of the lack of play and we might take two game to get into it, once we get that right we would do good and play well.
“Spain really took us down and we want to go there and prove that we can play and once we play well then it would be big for us if we win a game or two,” Gonsalves stated.
The 12-member squad reads: Ryan Gonsalves (Captain), Rupert Giles, Richard Staglon, Rondell McArthur, Vallon Adams, Rickford Cummings, Pebo Hamilton, Claudius Butts, Patrick King, Avery Corbin, Blaze Bailey and Ronald Myers. Robin Roberts will be the manager of the team, while Kenneth Grant Stuart has been named as head coach.
The squad will depart Guyana this weekend for New York where they will spend some time training and having practice matches before participating in the Hong Kong Sevens, which will run from April 7-9.
