T&T will be seeking to take the final step toward the North America and Caribbean Rugby Association (Nacra) Championship title when the national 15s team hosts a confident rival in Guyana at UWI Ground, St Augustine, on Saturday from 4 pm.
Both teams are coming off Round Two-South wins over Barbados, with T&T taking victory by a wider margin last Saturday. A win over Guyana will put T&T into Round Three, a one-off final against a USA South team, on a date to be announced.The last time T&T met Guyana, the latter controlled the entire encounter, spurred on by home support in Georgetown to win 20-0 which saw the Calypso Warriors booted out of qualifiers for the 2015 IRB Rugby World Cup.
Both teams will have a lot to say on Saturday when they renew the biggest rivalry in regional rugby. The hotly-contested fixture was once trademarked in the MacGregor Cup, which is currently lodged at President's House in T&T. The last few meetings, however, have been those of Nacra and World Cup qualifiers, in which Guyana has proved stronger.
Guyana, a fit, confident, and well-trained outfit, will arrive in T&T later this week hoping to capture another victory.T&T, meanwhile, which last won the Nacra 15s title in 2010, will be buoyed by its 19-6 win away to Barbados at the Garrison Savannah, in which Jamal Clarke scored one try and James Phillip a double (and Kelson Figaro, with two converted efforts). A week prior, Guyana was lucky to take four points as it defeated Barbados by just two points, 19-17.