The Bermuda Rugby Football Union will again host an elite skills clinic for the under-19, men’s and women’s national sevens teams at National Sports Centre from June 28 to July 3.

All three teams are preparing for the regional championships next month, the sevens tournament serving as a qualification to the 2020 Olympics.

Atavus will again be putting on the clinic, with the coaching team including Ben Gollings, the record points scorer and one of the most capped sevens players of all time, Matt Turner, the former England player, and Charl Maherbe, the strength and conditioning coach for a professional South Africa franchise.

Formerly known as Serevi Rugby, Atavus was founded in 2011 and has grown to become a leading authority on elite-level rugby. The BRFU has nurtured a close relationship with Atavus, with professional coaches visiting the island several times a year to put Bermuda’s players through a variety of drills, while also working with the national teams at overseas tournaments.

The relationship is made possible by Axa XL’s sponsorship of rugby on the island. Jonathan Cassidy, the BRFU’s director of sevens, said: “Atavus are an integral part of the Bermuda rugby success story, in both accomplishments on the field and growing the game island-wide.

“This is only made possible through the generosity of Axa XL. During an Atavus visit, the coaching team will typically reach over 200 schoolkids and take them through their strides, under the leadership of our Youth Development Officer, Patrick Calow.”

Tom Healy, the Bermuda men’s sevens coach, added: “Success at the grassroots level is beginning to bear fruit at the national team level with over half the squad having come through the youth programme.”