Rugby a good fit for fly-half Barrow

May 11, 2020 Sports

By Calvin Chapman
Police Falcons fly-half, Michael Barrow, believes that it was a step in the right direction getting involved in rugby and he has big aspirations to help the once celebrated Green Machine; Guyana’s senior men’s rugby team, get back on top.
The 21-year-old former St. Joseph’s High school student was an amazing prospect from the onset and could’ve made his debut for the Junior ruggers in 2013 but couldn’t make the under-19 squad because he didn’t reach the minimum age requirement of 16-years.
However, two years after, in 2016, Barrow got his chance with the Guyana Rugby Football Union (GRFU) youth side in the regional tournament which scrummed off in Miami with his debut match against the Jamaicans.
Current coach of Police Falcons, Theo Henry, who was an integral part of the Green Machine’s most recent glory days, in an invited comment with Kaieteur Sport, revealed that Barrow has immense potential.
The incumbent sevens’ coach further shared that Barrow is, “A young and exciting player, very creative, he is what you would consider a playmaker in the fraternity, if he decides to take the game a bit more serious he can definitely be a major asset to the national programme in the future.”
However, Barrow, a former track athlete recounted that it was former Falcons boss Troy Yhip who discovered the youngster, “I was already a sprinter in St. Joseph and I already had an aggressive nature because I used to box as well and at that time I was a big NFL fan and I saw the similarities with the two sports so it wasn’t a hard decision to make when Yhip invited me to his Saturday programme for youths.”
The fly-half explained that his blood runs blue after being one of first players at Falcons, “I’ve been with the police falcons since the beginning and once you’re building something from scratch it’s always hard. So we’ve had our many years as the whipping boys of the GRFU and that’s one of my biggest goals for myself and the club. I want to erase that from our name because we always come out and compete at our best. Of course we’ve got our internal problems competing to get the attention that football and athletics have from the Police Sports Club but we will continue to do our best.”
The prodigy shared an encouraging note for aspiring players, “Rugby definitely gave me a lot of exposure to different people and different cultures of rugby. Traveling and making international friends and even rivals. The way the sport is going right now, I’d invite anybody to start playing because we’re in the era of rebuilding so fresh legs is exactly what the sport needs.
Barrow, who is a second year university student majoring in communications, highlighted his fears that following covid-19 the sport may never be the same, “During the pandemic, we’ve all been sharing various home routines, I’m fortunate enough to have a spacious yard so I do my core work there and some cardio early in the morning. Honestly that’s nothing compared to the actual sport, I’ve been watching a lot of old tapes to cope. I think moving forward the sport might change after the pandemic and I hope all my mates keep the same hunger and drive so we can take Guyanese rugby to the next level.”

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