Bermuda rugby has a bright future if a youth tour to England is anything to go by.

The Island’s under-10 and under-11 national teams competed in the St Neots Festival of Rugby last weekend, and the older group came within a whisker of winning the whole thing.

Bermuda under-11s played four matches in their pool scoring 18 tries in the process.

They ran in six in a 30-0 thumping of Newmarket, before overconfidence got the better of them and they lost to their next opponents St Ives by a solitary try.

St Neotts came into the next match on the back of two opening wins, however some fine running by Khabir Dill and Josh Lipschutz took the game away from the home side and Bermuda ran out 20-10 winners.

The under-11s final group game was a one-sided affair as they ran in eight tries to sweep Ely aside 40-0, a victory that helped them top their group and set up a meeting in the final with Bishop Stortford.

As it turned out the final was a game too far for Bermuda, and they were comfortably beaten by their opponents.

Meanwhile, the under-10s, also won three of their pool matches scoring 19 tries, beating Peterborough, St Ives and Ely, while losing to St Neotts. The defeat prevented the under-10s from making it out of the pool stages.

The rugby and sportsmanship Bermuda displayed earned them the Fair Play Award, which was presented to the players by David Strettle, the England player, and Neil De Kock, the South Africa scrum half.

Before the St Neotts tournament, the Bermuda players got to rub shoulders with some of the game’s best players during a training session with Harlequins and a trip to watch top-flight teams Northampton and Saracens clash in the Aviva Premiership.

Bermuda also played a warm-up match against Bedford Modern, and were given an eye-opening introduction to competitive rugby.

The under-11s quickly found themselves down 15-5, but recovered after the break and Dill ran in four tries to earn his side a 25-25 draw.

The under-10s also struggled early on, and although they managed to drag themselves back into the game, they ultimately came up just short.