GRFU to honour the late Colonel (retd) Lewis with Yearly Sevens Tournament

During the course of the week the Guyana Rugby Football Union lost Colonel (retd) John Lewis to COVID-19. He was the country’s sixth victim.

This was a shocker to many, as it rattled the Rugby fraternity in Guyana. However, current GRFU president Ryan Dey has said the GRFU will honour Lewis with a yearly sevens tournament.
Speaking with Guyana Times Sport, GRFU President Ryan Dey was asked about the loss of Lewis. He said, “John was a very good man, who did a lot for the sport of rugby. He was always involved even way after his playing days. He held rugby up for some time during his stint as the president of the union. He will surely be missed by the rugby community. We lost a good son of the soil, RIP Col. John Lewis. The GRFU will have a yearly sevens tournament in his honour.”
Dey also said that as the current leader of the GRFU, he was inspired by Lewis who was once the former president of the GRFU. “Mr. Lewis was always a very upstanding gentleman who always stayed true to the sport, and he also understood that a true leader is always there for the people; so if there is anything I would take from him, it is that integrity to do what’s right and call is for what it is,” Dey opined.

Having enlisted in the GDF back in 1968, John Lewis steadily improved his ranking even as he dabbled in a number of sporting disciplines, such as basketball, football and badminton. The sport he loved most was rugby, and Lewis was a stalwart in the fraternity, playing the sport at the national level and later serving as President of the Guyana Rugby Football Union (GRFU) for a number of years.