David Rose is a man on a mission -- to get a West Indies rugby team into the 2003 Rugby World Cup.

Agreement has been reached between rugby union authorities in the region to launch a West Indies team with a similar catchment area to the cricket team.

Rose, an Englishman employed by the Caribbean Rugby Union to raise the profile of the game and oversee its development, is in Bermuda to sell the game and his dream.

Barbados-based development officer Rose felt Bermuda, the reigning Caribbean region champions, had the potential to supply players to a future West Indies team.

And he was hopeful that in four years time the Windies rugby XV would be taking part in what has been described as the world's third biggest sporting event, after the Olympic Games and soccer's World Cup.

"Our top aim is for a West Indies team to qualify for the 2003 World Cup in Australia -- or failing that, 2007 in England,'' said Rose.

"From what I have seen already of players in the region and Caribbean nationals playing their rugby abroad, I would say a West Indies team would give any countries outside the world's top 15 a run for their money.

"We wanted to call it the West Indies Rugby Union, rather than the Caribbean, because the name is so well known in sport, thanks to the cricket team.'' An administrational structure for the new union should be in place by the end of this year and by next Spring, Rose hoped the team would be ready to play its first match.

The first World Cup qualifiers will be against some of South America's weaker rugby nations, Chile, Paraguay, Uruguay and Brazil.

Success would mean a further round of qualifiers against stiffer competition, in the shape of Canada, USA and Argentina.

But failure to beat them would not mean automatic elimination, as they would still have a chance to reach the finals via the so-called reprocharge, designed to give rugby's weaker nations a realistic chance of qualification.

Rose, 35, who played the game at a high level in England as a fly-half with Moseley and Staffordshire, said youth programmes starting with non-contact versions of rugby were the key to boosting its popularity in Bermuda.

He was pleased to see that 10 schools on the Island already have rugby programmes and added that there were good practical reasons for children to opt to play rugby ahead of more popular sports.

"It doesn't matter what size or shape you are -- there's a position you can play on the rugby field,'' said Rose.

"If you're not tall with excellent eye-to-hand co-ordination, you won't be good at basketball and if you've got two left feet you can't play football.

But there's a place for everyone on the rugby field.

"At the moment, there are only four clubs and a small playing base -- but that means if you are good at rugby, you have a reasonable chance of playing for Bermuda, while if you were good at athletics you'd have much less of a chance.'' Rose predicted the youth programmes would lead to a burgeoning playing base and said this was already happening in Trinidad, expected to be strong challengers for Bermuda's Caribbean crown.

"Rugby should no longer be seen as an ex-pat sport,'' added Rose.

"Bermudians are playing it in increasing numbers every year.'' David Rose: Expects Bermuda to play a big part in a future West Indies XV.