While Bermuda are undoubtedly the top Caribbean side at conventional rugby, head coach Lawrence Bird admits their sevens game has plenty of room for improvement.Bird’s side recently reaffirmed their status as the region’s rugby powerhouse after defending their NACRA Caribbean Championship, defeating Guyana 18-0 at the National Sports Centre.And they will be vying to complete ‘the double’ by becoming the best team at both formats of the game when they head to Ottawa, Canada for the NACRA Sevens Championship next month.Achieving another regional triumph would be a major feat for Bermuda, who are traditionally not as strong at the smaller-sided version of the game, losing three of their four games at last year’s Championship.With Bermuda likely to send a largely inexperienced squad to Ottawa, Bird has played down the side’s chances of usurping sevens kings Guyana, who have won the competition for the past five years.“A lot of the younger lads are back from college and so they will definitely be in the mix and have the opportunity to make the squad,” said Bird.“Some of our more experienced players really felt it in the 15s Championships, which has placed a lot of demand on their time over the past few years, so we will probably turn to our younger players.“We have a lot of young guys coming through and there’s a great coaching community helping them out, which makes my job a lot easier. These guys are learning sevens at an early age and we need to bring them through, hone their skills and improve their speed and fitness.”In an effort to improve the standard of their small-sided game, the Bermuda Rugby Football Association (BRFU) reached out to Fijian sevens legend Waisale Serevi who travels the world with his renowned coaching camp.Serevi, who is widely regarded as one of the best ever sevens players, held a four-day skills clinic at Warwick Academy last week, where he and his coaching team worked with both junior and senior players (see Page 23).“We had Serevi and his coaching team last weekend helping us out. It was very useful for me as a coach to watch what was going on,” added Bird.“He did a lot of work with the juniors but on the weekend he coached the senior team.“We’re very keen to improve and that’s why we brought Serevi and his coaching camp to Bermuda it’s something we will be looking to do every year.”Bird said the BRFU were determined to bring their sevens game on a par with the 15s and was confident his team would be able to hold their own in Canada.“We used to be a force a few years ago but we do need to develop that part of the game,” he said. “We’ve done reasonably well but we haven’t won it for a long time.“We want to compete more in the region at sevens but we’re not where we would like to be at the moment.“Guyana are the team to beat at sevens and have been the best team for a number of years.“But I certainly think we can compete at this tournament, we have time to prepare and we will be working hard during the run-up to the tournament.The NACRA Sevens Championship, which runs from August 25 to 26, will act as a finals qualifier for the 2013 Rugby Sevens World Cup. Hosts Canada and the US will also play in the competition.n Bermuda’s Under-19 national team head to Mexico City, Mexico today for the NACRA Under-19 Championships.The tournament, held at the the IPN University, runs from July 714.Bermuda have been drawn in Pool B alongside Trinidad and Tobago and Jamaica, while Pool A includes Cayman Islands, Mexico and Barbados.