Guyana fall to Barbados in RAN Tier 2 clash as missed chances prove costly

By Michelangelo Jacobus

Guyana’s national men’s rugby team suffered a 21-3 defeat to Barbados in their Rugby Americas North (RAN) Tier 2 15s clash at the Garrison Savannah on Saturday night; a result that dealt a significant blow to their hopes of retaining their place in the competition.
Playing in front of a vocal Barbados crowd, the Green Machine produced a spirited effort, but were ultimately undone by a combination of missed opportunities, handling errors, disciplinary setbacks and a number of officiating decisions they felt went against them.
Guyana made an encouraging start and opened the scoring in the fifth minute when Tyresse Prescod successfully converted a penalty to hand the visitors an early 3-0 lead. The Guyanese looked sharp in the opening stages and appeared capable of taking control of the contest.
However, much like in their previous outing against Bermuda, handling errors at key moments disrupted their momentum. Barbados gradually worked their way back into the match and capitalised on a line-out deep inside Guyana’s territory, scoring a try just feet away from the visitors’ goal line. The hosts then added a penalty in the 32nd minute to move ahead 8-3, a lead they carried into the halftime interval.

Despite trailing, Guyana remained competitive and returned after the break with renewed energy. The visitors enjoyed periods of possession and territory, but struggled to breach a disciplined Barbadian defence. Several promising attacking movements broke down in the final phases, denying Guyana opportunities to get back on level terms.

The contest became increasingly physical as the second half progressed. One of the game’s major talking points came in the 64th minute when Guyana’s players appealed for sanctions after Lionel Holder appeared to be struck by a Barbadian player. However, match officials indicated that neither the referee nor the assistant referee had seen the incident and play continued.
Just three minutes later, Guyana’s task became even more difficult when Renaldo Niles was shown a red card for a dumping tackle while defending against a Barbadian attack. The decision proved costly, with Barbados converting the resulting penalty in the 68th minute to extend their lead.
With Guyana reduced in numbers, Barbados continued to apply pressure and capitalised on further errors. Sean Ward crossed for a try in the 75th minute, although the conversion attempt was unsuccessful. Another try in the closing stages sealed a 21-3 victory for the home side.
Following the match, Guyana Rugby Football Union (GRFU) President Ryan Gonsalves expressed disappointment with the officiating while also acknowledging that his team failed to make the most of several scoring opportunities.
“I was very disappointed; what we experienced tonight was very unfortunate. The referee’s calls were very crucial, very poor, to my liking, and everyone who witnessed the game could see that the calls were totally off, mostly against Guyana, and that really kept throwing our momentum off,” Gonsalves said.

“When we were in attacking positions, it kept throwing us back. Then we had two yellow cards and a red card, so we were playing short for most of the second half, so with that simple discipline, sometimes we have to hold our own, keep our composure, keep the ball and try to execute.”
Gonsalves noted that Guyana created enough opportunities to produce a different outcome, but were unable to convert them into points.
“We also had a few opportunities, five clear opportunities to score, that we also made some errors. It could have gone either way. I wish the guys had stuck a little bit more, played with a bit more structure, we fell apart sometimes. I think the referee also got to the players as well. It is unfortunate, but I’m still proud of the guys.”
Despite the defeat, the GRFU President remained optimistic about the long-term future of the programme and urged supporters to remain patient as the team continue their rebuilding process.
“We’re building. Rebuilding any sport is tough, we have to give it time, so we just want Guyana to be patient with us as well. The Green Machine, we all know, won for over 10-15 years; we went without losing games. This is only the second time we lost to Barbados in 20 years.”
“We just have to have some patience. Guyana’s rugby is going to be rebuilt. We’re gonna take some time, but we need the support also to help us rebuild the sport.”
He added; “We are not far off from this Barbados team. It is just unfortunate how it went tonight. We had a lot of things that they did well, and also a lot of mistakes made. Congratulations to Barbados; they played well, they have the win over us; but we have to go back home, train more, have more rugby going on in Guyana, so we can have more players coming into the system. So, our Guyana team is going to be very dominant in three to five years.”
Head Coach Claudius Butts echoed similar sentiments, pointing to execution in key attacking areas as one of the major factors behind the loss.
“Same as last game, we made a lot of mistakes in the red zone. I think we put Barbados under some pressure, but that extra pass, executing that two-on-one finishing, that hampered us this evening,” Butts said.
While reluctant to place the blame solely on the officials, the Coach admitted that some calls came at critical moments.
“I think some calls that were for us, went against us. I’m one that don’t really blame the ref, but I think the ref made some errors at critical points in the game, hence it cost us some possessions and tries as well.”
Reflecting on the team’s progress since their heavy defeat to Barbados at the same venue a year ago, Butts said there were still positives to take from the performance.
“Judging from last year and this year, we have a very young team, a young bunch. Some of the guys reside in the US as well. It’s a building process. I personally think we need to go back to the drawing board and work on a few things, work on a few areas and come back strong in the next tournament.”
Butts added that the coaching staff would focus on correcting technical deficiencies and reducing errors as Guyana continue the rebuilding effort ahead of future international assignments.
Green Machine s upcoming fixture against Trinidad and Tobago is yet to be confirmed.
Guyana Times’ coverage of the Green Machine’s tour of Barbados is sponsored by John Fernandes Ltd, with support from Trophy Stall, First Care Pharmacy, and Beacon Café.