the sport's grass roots.

And the Bermuda Rugby Football Union is "happy to adopt any methods of coaching, depending on current trends, so long as they develop the game in Bermuda,'' said national team coach Kieran Peacock.

To aid in this development, Rugby Football Union's technical administrator for higher education, Peter Drewett, has arrived on the Island.

Drewett has visited the Island on two previous occasions and during this trip he will be showing the Island's middle and high school physical education teachers how to introduce tag rugby into their curriculum.

Drewett, who played rugby for England at the school and university level and club rugby for Bath, is now involved in coaching at all levels in England and in player and coaching development. He is also helping to coach the South West division for their upcoming games against Argentina, Queensland and the junior South Africa Springboks.

Tag rugby, he explained, was an ideal vehicle to demonstrate how theories involved in teaching co-educational physical education in the middle schools could be put into practice.

"From my point of view,'' he said, "the game is for all ages, abilities and genders. It provides a safe and exciting environment which allows for maximum participation.

"It is also an excellent way to develop general health and fitness.'' Peacock added that the techniques involved in the non-contact sport -- such as passing and evasive running -- applied to other sports as well.

And the introduction of the sport into schools will hopefully encourage more of the Island's youth to get involved in club rugby. One of the BRFU's plans is for the Island's rugby clubs to create youth sessions on the weekend with tag rugby. This would, in turn, be followed by the introduction of contact rugby.

Following a trip in 1993, Drewett returned to the Island last year and went to four primary schools, where he worked with their physical education teachers and children in introducing tag rugby.

The idea took off, culminating in a primary school tag rugby festival which saw 14 teams compete. Peacock said middle and high school teachers saw this and decided they wanted their own workshop so they could introduce the game in their schools.

So today 50 teachers are participating in a workshop from 9 a.m. until 3.30 p.m. at the Police field in Prospect under the watchful eye of Drewett.

And Drewett will also be working with the Island's rugby clubs and the national team as they prepare for the upcoming season.

The national team will be participating in the Caribbean Championships in 15 and seven-a-side competition and World Cup sevens and 15-a-side qualifying games.

There will also be a number of teams visiting the Island, including current UK university champions Cardiff Institute.

The regular season kicks off on September 15 at Malabar field with the Sandys Boat Club Tournament.

Peter Drewett