Saracens ready for tour showpiece clash

They’ve hit the beach, met the people and sampled the scooters — and now it’s time for Saracens to finally show Bermuda they can play rugby.

The Aviva Premiership team take on a Bermuda Select XV tonight at the National Sports Centre (6:30pm kick-off) where there promises to be a party atmosphere.

The game is part of a week-long tour to raise money for the Beyond Rugby and Family Centre charities.

Former England captain Lewis Moody will be managing the Bermuda side, which is likely to feature, at some stage,  Ireland legend Geordan Murphy, as well as a host of US and Bermuda players.

Saracens, meanwhile, have a 35-man squad to choose from, with Mouritz Botha and Charlie Hodgson in the frame.

Fun is the name of the game tonight, and Sarries’ Namibian World Cup star Jacques Burger believes the trip is the perfect example of how professional teams can promote rugby across the globe.

He told the Bermuda Sun: “We love the game and Bermuda is an easy place to promote it.

“We know what rugby is all about, the respect we have for each other and the hard work, the work ethic and how you can make friends.

“It’s such an incredible game so if we can bring that across, that’s been our main aim for this week.

Growing the game

“Rugby has grown so much already. I come from Namibia and I know throughout Africa it’s gone amazing, the game’s just spreading and for good reason. So to bring rugby all around the world and make it a bigger game, it’s an amazing feeling to see rugby grow. It’s awesome.”

He added: “The English summer is not the same as the Bermuda summer so it’s good to get away from it. It’s important to promote the game with the match tonight — for the Saracens brand and for rugby as a whole.”

Burger does wish, though, that Saracens had arrived on the island with a trophy or two in their luggage, rather than three semi-final defeats in the LV Cup, Heineken Cup and Premiership play-offs.

He said: “You have to be up for it all the time in professional rugby or you find yourself in Bermuda, which is not a bad thing, but you want to win the cups and then go to Bermuda!”