Jamin Hodgkins was delighted to be named in the Select XV for the Canada Conference rugby tournament after his impressive displays for Canada Under-20.

While it proved a campaign of mixed results for the team, suffering defeats by Zimbabwe and Uruguay, with a solitary victory over Chile, Hodgkins proved one of the shining lights for Canada in what was his first taste of international action at this level.

“It shows that I did something right during the tournament, so it’s a nice thing to see,” said Hodgkins, a former Warwick Academy student, whose mother is Canadian and father Bermudian.

“As a team I don’t really think we feel like we performed as well as we could, but on a personal level I felt I played pretty well and it was a really great experience.

“It was probably as good as I could have hoped and I feel like all the hard work paid off. For me it’s a good first step with the national team and hopefully I can keep pushing on.”

A particular highlight of Hodgkins’s performances was his kicking accuracy, ending the tournament with an 80 per cent success rate off the tee, second only to Damian Fliegel, of Chile.

“It’s something I’ve worked on a lot and spent countless hours practising,” he added. “It’s part of my game that I would count as a major strength.”

The 20-year-old’s efforts will have no doubt caught the eye of Canada senior men’s team head coach Kingsley Jones, who alluded to the players that a number of them could be in contention for a place in a senior squad training camp in October.

“The Canada senior head coach came in and spoke with the whole team, and said he is keeping an eye on us because he wants to add some young players to his squad,” added Hodgkins, who while playing down his chances of being involved at this time is encouraged that his ambitions of representing Canada at senior level may be realised.

“There is a training camp in October and although I’m not sure I’m quite in line for that just yet, it’s encouraging that the senior coaches are keeping an eye on us because ultimately I want to play for the full Canadian men’s team.”