Belizean Rugby Player Gains International Attention

 Two weeks ago, a Belizean rugby team went to play among others in their category in the 2022 Rugby American North Sevens Qualifiers, which was held in Nassau, Bahamas. The two-day event served as the qualifier for the 2022 Commonwealth Games in England and the 2022 Rugby World Cup Sevens in South Africa. While the young Belize team did not win, one of their players surely got the attention of those in attendance, as well as that of other teams that were present, when he managed to zip past the defense and score. Twenty-four-year-old Ashton Usher is a winger, or what we would call a striker on the team. Usher shared with News Five how he managed to pull off the spectacle on day two of the competition.

Ashton Usher, Belizean Rugby Player

Ashton Usher

“Everybody used to like – get the ball to Ashton, get the ball to Ashton, he got the wheels, and. I was waiting for the perfect time; I was waiting for that whole (opportunity) and when I finally got the ball, um, I was hesitating if I should pass it because I saw an opening and I was like, naw, I’ll just go for it you know because I believe eena my team and dehnwa support me. Because my biggest fear is because I’m fast, my teammates might not keep up with me and when I get tackled, my support might not reach me in time and the ball will get turned over. So it’s either run straight to the goalpost and touch it down immediately or rely pahn my team for the support, you know. So, the first one, I nuh know what got into me, but the adrenaline just kicked in and I went for it. And I made the first try. Doing that made the whole motivation for the team. I made the first – the second international try for Belize and that was a huge thing for me, seeing everybody like “good job, we did it.”