Bermuda’s young rugby players will be heading to Jamaica next week to compete in the Rugby Americas North Men’s Under-19 Tournament.

The 21-strong squad are seeded third alongside USA South, Jamaica, Cayman Islands, Trinidad and Tobago and Guyana, and will compete across four days at the University of West Indies’ Mona Bowl starting on Wednesday.

Bermuda narrowly missed out on a place in the final of last year’s tournament to Jamaica, who progressed on points scored after the two teams had played out an 8-8 draw.

“The squad have trained incredibly hard for this competition and spirits are high as they prepare for this competition,” said head coach Chris Naylor.

“Following their impressive performance in 2022 and the continued progression and development we’ve seen from these players, we are excited to see what they can do in Kingston next week.

“They will be a force to be reckoned with and not to be underestimated.”

In preparation for the tournament, the team have just returned from an invitational tour to Gibraltar.

During their week-long camp, they faced the hosts’ Under-19 squad, ultimately going down to a narrow 24-17 defeat.

Tries from Kwame Naylor and Aiden Kendall had Bermuda level at 17-17 with eight minutes remaining, only for Gibraltar to add two late penalties to claim the victory.

• The tournament will be broadcast live on SportsMax 2, SportsMax YouTube, and on the SportsMax App, within the Caribbean, while anyone outside of the region can catch the action on the official Rugby Americas North website at www.rugbyamericasnorth.com.