Guyana’s National Sevens Rugby Team continue to count their losses after another dismal showing, this time during their opening encounter of the Pan American Games 2019.
art of the action between Guyana and the USA
As expressed by team member Patrick King in a previous publication, the Guyanese Sevens Team was keen on having a better showing, given their numerous shortcomings for the 2019 year. However, this was not to be, as Guyana met the well-oiled USA outfit on the rugby field for their first Pan-Am 2019 game.
The encounter was nothing short of a nightmare for the Guyanese, as one conversion after another led to a 31-0 score by the half. Returning to the playing field, USA was now well aware of the advantage they held over their South American opponents, and capitalised on this by doubling the score to 62-0 by the game’s finish.
Speaking with media operatives in Peru, team member Osei McKenzie was brutally honest about the team’s performance against the more experienced USA outfit.
“It was subpar based on the skill level and talent that we know we have. Teams at this level usually perform at a clip higher, because they’re more accustomed to playing at this level; but the guys out there, we couldn’t gain possession, so we weren’t able to execute all the preparation that we had planned,” he stated.
He explained that Guyana lacked consistency, but additional exposure would have enabled them to bag a win.
“They play more consistently at this level, so it’s to gauge where Guyana is versus them because of their consistent participation, but given more exposure to this level of rugby, we have the skill set and the talent to match up with them,” McKenzie said.
The Guyana Sevens Team in Lima, Peru consists of Claudius Butts, Lancelot Adonis, Richard Staglon, Peabo Hamilton, Vallon Adams, Patrick King, Jamal Angus, Godfrey Broomes, Avery Corbin, Dwayne Schroeder, Ozie McKenzie, Ronald Mayers and Selwyn Henry.
They are expected to come up against Brazil and Chile in their future encounters.
