Youth team to take on Dublin's best

Bermuda’s young rugby stars travel to Ireland today to play in four games and a tournament in a whirlwind tour.

The Under-12 rugby squad, coached by Steve Robb, will play two matches on April 30.

Those games will be against Dublin’s Willow Park.

Later on they will attend the Heineken Cup semi-final at Aviva Stadium between Leinster and Toulouse.

On Sunday the lad will take on Cill Dara and Naas Rugby Football Club.

After the matches they will get a chance to relax a little with a sightseeing tour of Dublin.

Monday will see them play Gorey Rugby Football Club for two matches.

The squad will return to Bermuda on Tuesday.

A spokesman for the group said: “The tour and the programme is about much more than winning a rugby match — it’s about bringing kids from different family backgrounds, different schools, different economic backgrounds together in a situation where they would not otherwise find themselves and working together with people with whom they perhaps would not interact  with in their normal day-to-day lives.

“Our players come from a wide range of backgrounds and we are proud of the fact that we have students from nine public and private schools represented on the tour.  Friendships made in rugby are long lasting, and it starts from an early age.

Before the lads left they got their national team kits and an inspirational talk from national team member Bobby Hurdle.

Bermuda’s under-12 squad

Marco McGavick, Jacob Robb, Peter Kiernan, Jacques deVerteuil, Johnny Page, Padraic O’Shaughnessy, Kieron Smith, Robbie Turnbull, Tyler Kendall, Ethan Krebs, Philip Matthias, Isaiah Bell, Alex Doyling, Sam McKittrick, Kellin Williams, Sean Tucker, Logan Ball, Billy Montgomery, Tariq Thomas, Max Kuzyk, Cameron Lewis, Enchye Caisey, Johnny Hodgkins, Alizay Furbert