The USA Rugby South Panthers Men will look to win their first Rugby Americas North title since they did it in 2013 as they take on Guyana National Rugby in Georgetown, Guyana. This will be the first time these two teams have met in the championships since the Panthers fell to Guyana, 30-27, in Atlanta in 2014.
This year, the USA South was able to take the top spot in the North Zone Championship bracket of the RAN matrix this year. USA South finished with a 2-1 record on the season, with one loss to Mexico (36-29), and wins over Cayman Islands (39-5) and a win by forfeit over Bermuda. While the North Zone Championships had a three way tie at 2-1 with opponents, Mexico and Cayman Islands, USA South was able to take the top spot with the most points at 11 vs 9 and 9.
Guyana will be competing for their second consecutive RAN Championship and third in 4 years. Guyana played in the South Zone Division, competing against Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago. Guyana went 2-0 in the division with a 34-26 win over Barbados, and a 24-17 win over Trinidad and Tobago. Guyana took their spot in the championships with 10 points earned over the course of the matrix.
This will be a great championship rematch. The dynamics will be relatively the same as it was in 2014 with the Panthers being the top seed and Guyana being the underdog, but this will not be a one sided battle. The Panthers will be coming in with a strong squad lead by Hein Erasmus of the Miami Trident. This should be a great match up to watch.
The championships will take place on July 29th at 1pm CST/2PM EST. And will be viewed on https://www.facebook.com/sannsports/