Bermuda rugby aims for the top

Bermuda Rugby Football Union coach Patrick Calow believes the launch of a new three-year programme will ‘transform’ the game on the island.

 The BRFU, XL Group and Serevi Rugby — an elite provider of on-field programming for coaches and players from beginner to elite — have teamed up to bring a range of high-level sessions to the island’s youth.

This includes a week of youth camps —already under way — and combines school visits and coaching courses.

Serevi’s internationally recognized coaches will also work directly with the Bermuda National Teams to help them develop the skills and training needed to compete in international rugby. 

Calow said in a press release: “Because of the generous support of XL and the expertise brought by Serevi Rugby, we feel this three-year programme will transform rugby across the whole island.

“The training received by our national team all the way down to our youth will help us lay the foundation and achieve our goal of becoming the top-ranked Caribbean rugby nation.”

Working with the Bermuda RFU, Serevi Rugby’s on-island sessions will be led by international rugby legend Waisale Serevi, the ‘King of Sevens’ and IRB Hall of Fame Inductee, National Championship winning coach Evan Haigh, former or current national team players Pate Tuilevuka (USA), William Rasileka (Fiji), and Isimeli Daveta (Fiji). 

All sessions will take place at the National Sports Centre.

The remaining schedule includes a Youth Combine session on Saturday and a National Training Camp on Saturday and Sunday.

 Youth players interested in participating should email Bermuda RFU’s Patrick Calow at [email protected] to register. 

More information, videos and pictures are available at serevirugby.com/bermuda.

Serevi, co-founder of Serevi Rugby, said: “Thanks to our friends at XL we are striving to create a legacy for future Bermudian rugby players by sharing the game we love with them and providing the national teams with the hands-on training they need to take their game to the next level.

“Many of our coaches we’re bringing to Bermuda come from my native Fiji, so they share some common experiences with the island youth we’ll be working with and can connect and inspire them about the opportunities rugby can provide in life.”

Mark Berry, Senior Vice President and Managing Director at XL Group, who is also a Bermudian former rugby player and a committee member of the UK-based children’s charity of rugby The Wooden Spoon, said: “We believe in providing boys and girls across Bermuda with new character-building opportunities like this to encourage an active lifestyle, teamwork, respect, and the opportunities that come with the sport of rugby.

“Bringing a world-class rugby company like Serevi to Bermuda to work with the local RFU will provide players from beginner to our national team with exposure to the sport and a new level of skills which we believe will benefit Bermuda.”