Bermuda Under-19 rugby coach Chris Naylor has applauded his players after they finished second in the Rugby Americas North tournament in Querétaro, Mexico, on Saturday.

Already guaranteed a top-two position when they headed into the final against USA South, Naylor’s side put up a courageous display before eventually losing 27-14.

“As the coaches we are super proud of how the boys played against USA South, they played really well,” Naylor told The Royal Gazette.

Fly half Kwame Naylor, an injury doubt ahead of the final, and right wing Matthew Groves scored Bermuda’s tries, while captain Brandon Sangster added the extras with two successful conversions.

Bermuda's game plan was affected at the start of the second half when left wing Nyindae Smith suffered a cut to his leg, which left him requiring 20 stitches.

“I was very happy for Kwame and Matt in the first half for scoring the tries to keep us tied,’’ the coach said.

“We were unfortunate to give away a bit of a soft try right at the end of the first half that gave USA a 19-14 lead.

“Our boys were buzzing at half-time and they were like we've got this, these boys are here for the taking.

“Unfortunately we had an injury break straight after the kick-off when our wing Nyindae Smith received a nasty cut to his leg.

“The game had to be stopped for 25 minutes and that really took momentum away from us. It also gave the big American boys a chance to take a breather.

“Overall, it’s been a great tour for us and we’re very proud to finish second. We now feel we belong at the top table of Caribbean rugby for the under-19s, and that’s really nice.”

Naylor and his assistant, Anthony Cupidore, now have to start rebuilding as half the players on show Mexico will be over-age next year.

“Obviously these things do travel in cycles and we’re losing ten 19-year-olds out of the programme for next year,’’ Naylor added.

“This means we’re starting all over again, but the good thing is our captain, Brendan Sangster is still in the mix.

“A big shout out to all my 19-year-olds, they’ve been awesome for a number of years and on a personal level I’ve known some of them since they were toddlers.

“Some of them I had the opportunity to throw them their first rugby ball when I was teaching them at Sandys or in junior rugby.

“It’s quite a proud moment to see these boys come through after all these years and produce great rugby. The camaraderie between the players was really awesome on this trip.”