RAN Sevens Championships: Guyana’s Men’s Rugby team bows out in quarter final against Barbados

– Women’s team suffers major losses in 2 matches

Guyana’s men’s rugby team was defeated by Barbados in the quarter-finals of the Rugby Americas North (RAN) Sevens Championships on Saturday.
The Guyanese team on Friday lost to Jamaica 12-19 and drew against Trinidad and Tobago 14 all. On Sunday, the team bounced back by defeating the Cayman Islands 24-5.
The team came out second in their group, which included Jamaica, the Cayman Islands, and Trinidad and Tobago, thus qualifying them for the quarter-finals against Barbados.

In that match-up, Guyana lost to the Flying Fish boys 5-36 and was eliminated from the competition. On the other hand, the women’s team also suffered losses on day one of the competition. Guyana lost to Trinidad and Tobago 0-39 and to Mexico 0-43.
On Sunday, the Guyanese women’s team defeated Barbados 10-5 and was slated to face Bermuda later that Sunday.
The tournament ends on Sunday, with all the games being played at the Larry Gomes Stadium in Arima, Trinidad. The competition serves as a direct qualifier for the 2026 Central American and Caribbean Games in Santo Domingo, with the top three Men’s Tier 1 teams (excluding Canada) and the top two Women’s teams advancing.
The Guyanese men’s team won the RAN Championship seven times, with the most recent victory in 2016, but finished seventh in Tier 1 last year. The men’s team is led by Lionel Holder, while Sabola Grey will lead the women’s team.
Women’s Team: Nicole Nero, Tiffany Pilgrim, Nikita Andrews, Mandy Browne, Sabola Grey (captain), Jalena Shepherd, Aniqah Powley, Tonya Smith, Carrey Carter, Serra Persaud, Alison Smiley, and Sasha Greaves.
Men’s Team: Renaldo Niles, Shawn David, Jamal Angus (vice-captain), Mathew Talbot, Michael Barrow, Jonathan Garnette, Lionel Holder (captain), Rahsaan Dathorn-Howell, Gavin McPherson, Tyresse Prescod, Godfrey Polleydore, Yannic Williams, and Elisha Crawford.