The National Men’s Rugby Sevens team, commonly called Green Machine, will swing into action today (Saturday, July 5) against Trinidad and Tobago, their first hurdle in the quest to qualify for the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo.
The team is participating in the Rugby Americas North (RAN) Sevens championships being staged in Cayman Islands over the weekend. They would have departed Guyana since Tuesday (July 2) and held a camp on Wednesday and Thursday with the ultimate aim of trimming the squad from 14 to 12.
Experienced campaigner Ryan Gonsalves spoke to News Room Sport and revealed the team’s confidence is extremely high.
“We are more confident than before. The camp was very productive and we are looking very sharp, we expect to have a good tournament,” he expressed.
Gonsalves further indicated the aim is to beat defending champions Jamaica, their toughest challenge in the group, and top the group so as to avoid playing the top ranked Canada in the semi-finals. The Canadians are ranked fourth by World Rugby, while the Guyanese are 12th.
At the 2018 RAN Sevens in Barbados, Guyana lost the final to Jamaica 17-22. The previous year they lost their title to said opponents.
The other members in Pool B are Jamaica and hosts Cayman Islands. Pool A consists of Canada, Bermuda, Mexico and Barbados.
After clashing with the lads from twin island republic at 12:12h, they play the hosts from 14:46h and then the big test against Jamaica from 17:20h.
Engine room Claudius Butts will perform the role as player/coach in a squad which biggest addition is Dominic Lespierre, who is based in England.
The other members are Richard Staglon, Peabo Hamilton, Vallon Adams, Patrick King, Jamal Angus, Ryan Gonsalves, Godfrey Broomes, Avery Corbin, Dwayne Schroeder and Ozie McKenzie.
Management: Sherlock Solomon (Technical Director), John Lewis (Manager) and Akeem Fraser (Physiotherapist).
