Just after receiving permission from the Mayor and City Council of Georgetown to utilise the Parade Ground for much-needed practice sessions, Guyana Rugby Football Union (GRFU) Head and Rugby Coach Peter Green has made a call for better facilities to be given to sporting disciplines.
At the media briefing, the Rugby Coach described the conditions under which the team had to operate prior to receiving permission to use the Parade Ground. “That’s what will happen because of the weather and the players running up and down on at that field and I’m surprised at that, because they did some work on it and somehow it is not up to standard because just after use of several teams it became slushy,” he lamented.
Green further shared that attempts to utilise other practice facilities such as the
GRFU Head and Coach Peter Green speaking with media operatives
Leonora Complex proved futile owing to them being used by another sporting fraternity. He expressed gratitude for the use of Parade Ground, but not without outlining the difficulties they may encounter.
“Parade Ground yes, next week, but the boys have to walk the full length and breadth, because you have bottles there, and my rugby players tackle and fall on the ground. Visualise landing on the ground and a piece of glass waiting to rip you open; that’s not what we have in mind. So while we’re getting Parade Ground, we constantly have to walk the length of that ground and then we meet up with the opposition of people who are saying this is our land, what are you doing here?” he explained.
As such, the frustrated Coach made a bold call for a facility that is strictly for rugby, stating: “Rugby needs a ground, we have land. Why is the sports policy promising and we’re not getting these facilities? I’m appealing to the Government of Guyana to kindly make a priority and give us land at least where the majority of players are, from Demerara,” he said.
The Coach explained that they were appealing for their own training ground so as to avoid having to use facilities belonging to other sporting disciplines, especially when they are hosting international tournaments.
“We’re going to have a situation where you’re going to find football’s ground that is being made there, all of us are going to be begging to use that ground for international events. We don’t want that picture.”
The national rugby team is currently in preparation for the Caribbean and Central American Games in Barranquilla, Colombia.
