By Jonathan Kent Bermuda national team rugby captain Bobby Hurdle is staking his claim to play in England.

The 27-year-old Hurdle is in the UK having trials and playing in second XV games in the Midlands with a view to finding a club for next season.

The opportunity for the big, mobile second row forward was set up by Bermuda national team coach Peter Shillingford and Graham Smith, England's Midlands area youth development officer.

Smith, who visited Bermuda last year and did some coaching work with the youth and national team before the World Rugby Classic, has been introducing Hurdle to the clubs.

Second Division Moseley will be the top side to have a look at Hurdle, while he will also visit Stowerbridge and Dudley Kings and Winford, who have just been promoted to the Fourth Division.

Shillingford, himself a former Moseley player, believed Hurdle had the necessary attributes to make an impact at semi-professional level.

"He's a big lad, physically fit and very athletic and he is geared to the modern game which is based on fitness and athleticism,'' said Shillingford.

"I'm confident that one of the clubs will ask him to go back.

"If he finds a club and gets playing over there, more people will get to see him and it could lead to better things.'' Hurdle is keen to play in England, but he has been unlucky in previous attempts to realise the ambition. "Two seasons ago, he tried to get fixed up with Worcester, but he broke his collar bone the week before he was due to go,'' said Shillingford.

"We've been trying to get him over there for two or three years. Last year, it was difficult because the game was going through a transitional period.

With professionalism coming in, clubs were very sceptical about bringing players over, unless they were household names.'' At 27, Hurdle was older than would be ideal for a player trying to start afresh at a higher level, conceded Shillingford.

"He possibly could have done with going three years ago, but he has five or six years of good rugby in him yet,'' said the coach.

If Hurdle was successful in finding a club, Shillingford felt the benefits would be felt by his Bermuda team-mates when he returned.

"The only way to improve at any sport is by playing at a better standard -- it will definitely improve his game and hopefully he will be able to relay some of that to the other players.''.

On Sunday, Hurdle's Teachers team-mates will try to add to the silverware they have already won this season, when they take on Police in the Nichol Shield final. The league champions face Police in the final and Teachers vice-captain Heath Robinson was expecting a tough contest. "We know Police will put up a good fight,'' said Robinson. "They've been playing good rugby since they won the Duckett Memorial and it won't be easy.'' He acknowledged that filling the boots of his absent skipper Hurdle would not be easy either.

"Bobby is by far the best player on the Island and he's a great leader and motivator and we will obviously miss him a great deal,'' said Robinson.

If Hurdle was one of the keys to success this year, Robinson said there were many others.

"We've pretty much won everything we've entered,'' said Robinson. "We've had a fortunate year in that our players have stayed healthy for the entire season. Things have improved because we've changed our attitude a bit and we're enjoying playing more. At the beginning of the season we sat down and said `let's have a good time' and that's what we're doing now.'' He pointed to scrumhalf Craig McIntyre, forwards Tim White, Henry Adderley and William McNiven, and the centre pairing of Nathan Brown and Alvin Harvey as some of the major success stories of Teachers' season.

Teachers second XV will play Mariners in the Robin Hood Trophy final, also on Sunday afternoon at the National Sports Club.