Bermuda ready for USA test

Bermuda Rugby get their Caribbean Championship Final qualifying campaign under way tomorrow when they take on USA Rugby South.

The match kicks off at 4pm at the National Sports Centre, off Frog Lane, and will feature a number of youth games beforehand.

For the national team, coach Roedolf van der Westhuizen admits it’s a little bit of a step into the unknown, having seen little of the opposition.

However, he believes the Bermuda forwards will play a vital role if the hosts are to get their bid up and running with a victory.

Van der Westhuizen said: “I don’t know too much. The games they’ve played, just one has been streamed but I’ve read quite a lot of commentary.

“It seems they are quite beatable if you play them in the right way but it’s a young team compared to ours and fitness might come into the picture.

“To beat them we need to stamp our authority on the game and get points on the board early and not rely on scoring too many points in the second half.”

He added: “All rugby games are won or lost with the forwards but especially the way we play, we have a very forward dominated game. 

“It’s our strength as an island — all the clubs are forward dominated  and that spills into the national team.

“But I don’t want to  sound like we don’t have quality backs. 

“We have two of the sharpest centres I’ve seen for a long while at this level.”

As a top seed, if Bermuda top their round robin group they will host the finals on June 22. Van der Westhuizen is confident his side are hitting form at the right time.

He said: “I think we’re shaping up pretty good. We have come a long way in the five/six weeks we’ve been training.

“The boys have pulled together this week especially and are peaking at the right time. 

“The last two training sessions they’ve shown everytthing I am looking for ahead of such a big game.”