The Bahamas is expected to field a stronger team when the Freeport players are added to the mix this weekend.
Playing in their second try, the U19 select youth rugby squad will go up against the Canadian team, Joan of Arc, at 2 p.m. Saturday, at the Winton Rugby Field. This is the first match-up for the national select squad, which started training late last year. According to Elystan Miles, director in the Bahamas Rugby Football Union (BRFU), the team still has a lot of work to do. Miles also noted that the friendly games are being used as an evaluation for the local coaches.
Miles said: "This is the first time many of them are actually playing organized rugby, more of a tournament style play. To be honest, the team here just started training several months back and you can see them making progress. We aren't putting any pressure on them; we are quite aware of their strengthens and weaknesses. All we need to do is see how they perform and take it from there.
"The team coming in from Canada is a strong one, but the players from Freeport are also strong so we are expecting a better game tomorrow. Over in Freeport, they have a strong youth rugby program. Here in Nassau, we are just trying to build our program. So we have gone into the schools. Those players who are coming out, you can see improvements but more work is needed."
The BRFU recently launched their high school program, using it as a feeder system for national teams. So far, several schools are playing rugby, including C.R. Walker Senior High, Doris Johnson Senior High, Queen's College and St. Augustine's College.
Training for persons in the program will continue, with the hopes of several of the players being named to the national U19 team that will take part in a regional tournament in July. That tournament will be played in Trinidad and Tobago. A local Youth Sevens tournament is scheduled in the upcoming weeks. That will be used as preparation for the regional event.
The national men's squad will play in the North America Caribbean Rugby Association (NACRA) tournament starting April 13.
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