The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

The Bahamas Rugby Football Union (BRFU) returns to international competition this week, this time in 7s play against the region’s best lineup of teams.

The BRFU squad is scheduled to leave Thursday for the regional qualifier of the 2013 RWC Sevens Finals which is set to take place at Twin Elms Rugby Park in Ottawa, Canada, August 25-26.

Two teams from the tournament will emerge and qualify for the finals set to be held in Russia.

The Bahamas will join the field, which also includes Bermuda, Jamaica, Cayman Islands, Mexico, Trinidad & Tobago, Barbados and St Vincent and the Grenadines.

“It’s a tough draw in Group B but this is a very talented team and we expect a lot from them. Most people look toward a Canada-USA final, but for us, if we were able to come out on top among the Caribbean teams it would be a huge achievement for us,” said BRFU director and team manager Elystan Miles.

“We have a good record against Mexico and Bermuda so we are pretty confident heading in.”

Miles said the team will be led by a veteran group, supported by young players who will serve as the building block of the programme for the future.

“Our starting seven is as good as anyone else’s in the region. We have an excellent mix of experience with some talented under 20 players that have joined us for the first time, but this nucleus has been together for years so they know what to expect and we know what to expect from them,” he said.

Canada and the United States will be strong favourites, with expected opposition from Caribbean champions Guyana.

Dorian Roach will serve as head coach of the squad. He represented the Bahamas recently at a coaching workshop in Las Vegas as part of the North American Rugby Association (NACRA) initiative to get prepared for the 2016 Olympics in Brazil.

He noted that with Rugby Sevens now in the Commonwealth Games and the 2016 Olympics, more and more attention is now being given to the sport.

The BRFU, according to Roach, will look to explore these new possible grant streams, including the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

According to BRFU executives, Rugby sevens “is seen as a complete development tool for players, improving their core skills as well as developing them holistically as they are forced to perform in highly pressured environments.

“The aim of the Bahamas National Sevens programme is to provide a route for dedicated and capable players to refine their rugby skills through regular exposure at an international level.

“By developing our top players to a high enough standard they become attractive to clubs in established rugby playing nations who will hopefully offer them the chance to play overseas,” the BRFU said on its website.

Internationally, the Bahamas has competed at the Commonwealth Sevens. While it remains an emerging force regionally, the Bahamas boasted four players on the West Indies Sevens squad and was at one point ranked fifth in the Caribbean.

In 2008, the Bahamas hosted the NAWIRA (North America & West Indies Rugby Association) Sevens which was held in Nassau in November 2008.

Rugby sevens is a variant of rugby union in which teams are made up of seven players, instead of the usual 15, with shorter matches. It is a seen as a more spectator friendly version of the sport with frequent scoring and wide open play across the pitch.

The national team hosted its final session with several scrimmage matches last Saturday.

Miles also noted that he was particularly proud of the fact that the team raised one-third of its funding, while corporate Bahamas provided the remainder.

NATIONAL 7S

SQUAD ROSTER

Forwards

Andrew Bain

Duran Beadle

Andrew Kemp

Charles Smith

Dan Woodside

Backs

Le-Var Boyd

Dorian Butler

Kacy Charlton

Mico Cooper

Jamaal Curry

Edwin Joseph

Michael Watkins

Head Coach - Dorian

Roach

Assistant Coach - John

Gates

Physiotherapist - Kyra

Lindsay

Manager - Ely Miles