GEORGETOWN – Barbados gave Guyana a tough test but went under 17-19 at the North American and Caribbean Rugby Association’s (NACRA) Senior Men 15s Championship last weekend.
Barbados dominated possession in the early stages by exploiting a series of Guyanese offensive errors and led 17-0 at half-time at the Guyana National Stadium.
Shaun English (two tries) and Christian Preece (one) wove their way through the Guyanese defensive line to give their team the early lead.
However, Guyana bounced back in the second half to take control of the game as the Bajans ran out of steam.
The Guyanese ruggers piled on the pressure with some relentless drives that eventually took their toll on the visitors’ backline which allowed the hosts to open their account.
Avery Corbin scored Guyana’s first try as the weary-looking Bajans succumbed to fatigue and pressure.
Corbin scored another try before Claudius Butts took the score to 15-17 with the third try and skipper Ryan Gonsalves strode up and buried the conversion to make it 19-17.
Barbados coach Stuart Copeland said after the match the pain of defeat was felt by all involved but this was a special group of young players that worked extremely hard, gave maximum effort and played with pride and commitment.
“The experience and lessons learned from this match will serve the players well in their next match and beyond,” Copeland said.
Barbados will meet Trinidad and Tobago on Saturday. (CMC/HG)
