Bermuda’s rugby sevens team head into action at the Junior Pan American Games tomorrow, with their first match coming against the team ranked fourth in the world at under-20 level.

The Bermuda side will face powerhouses Argentina, host nation Paraguay and Trinidad & Tobago in their group on the first day of the two-day tournament, with the island’s players hoping to overcome the odds and belie their status as the lowest-ranked team in the competition.

Coach Chris Naylor knows that his side are massive underdogs, especially in their opening battle against the Pumas, as he has been forced to select a makeshift squad owing to eligibility issues.

“First up is Argentina, who are ranked fourth in the world at this level and some of our players have never played a game of competitive rugby sevens in their life, so it will be a real eye-opener but a heck of an experience and we’re looking forward to it,” Naylor said

“There was a need to spread the net for a pool of eligible players because, as this is an Olympic event, players have to be [British Overseas Territories Citizens] at least. Some of the boys in our youth system are not eligible, even though they are born and raised here and their parents have [permanent resident’s certificates].

“We’ve had to leave a couple of our very best players at home, which is a shame as this under-20s group is particularly strong as far as playing ability goes, but the eligibility rules have decimated us.”

With the focus in sevens more about being gifted athletes than truly technical rugby players, Naylor turned to other sports to find potential replacements for those left at home. Bermuda defender Harry Twite was among those considering playing before the national football team reached the final stage of World Cup qualifying.

“We looked at getting in some other athletes — track guys and footballers,” Naylor said.

“A couple of footballers were close to coming, including Harry Twite, but he’s involved soon in some important matches for the national team. We did pick up Jayson Simons, who has run for Bermuda at Carifta and played rugby at under-15 level, so we’ve persuaded him back and he is an asset to the team.

“Jahkeel Smith, who is a CedarBridge student, had hardly played any rugby until going away with the under-19 team last month in Mexico. He’s a big, tall, lean athlete and, although he is our greenest player, I don’t doubt his athletic ability will get him through.

“But we’re pretty reliant on our leadership group of Aiden Kendall, Kwame Naylor and Brandon Sangster. They are our playmakers, so fingers crossed we’re lucky with injuries, as they will have to spend a lot of time on the field.”

But it’s not all doom and gloom, as Naylor, principal at Sandys Secondary Middle School, is hopeful that his team can prove capable of picking up at least a couple of points in their three group matches.

“Officially, we are ranked eighth of the eight teams, but that is based on men’s rankings and not under-20 rankings,” he said.

“This group have beaten Trinidad, Jamaica and Mexico over the past three years, so it’s not beyond the realms to think we could push for fifth spot,” he said.

“In our group, we’re playing hosts Paraguay, who are ranked fourth in South America and fourth here, but secretly I have an ambition that we could pull off a shock against them.

“Our Bermuda men’s team went down there about ten years ago and we got beat comfortably, but it wasn’t a whitewash. We took a 20-point defeat and they weren’t a world away from us.

“We felt that if we played them regularly, it would not have taken too long for us to turn that around and be on the winning side.”

The rugby team flew to South America early as they wanted to take part in the opening ceremony last Saturday and the upside for Naylor is that he has had some uninterrupted time to help prepare the squad.

“We only needed to be there three days before the competition, but the guys were keen to get involved at the Opening Ceremony, so they put pressure on us to get out there early,” he said.

“It also gave me the opportunity to work with the boys for a whole week in the build-up to the games for technical sessions, fitness and team building.

“Before we flew out, we’ve been playing against our men’s team, and that has been invaluable. It would have been great to go somewhere for a tournament and really expose the lads to what a sevens tournament is like, as it is really attritional.

“Games are only 14 minutes, but it’s 14 minutes of hell — I don’t think some of the boys quite realise that. You go through 14 minutes of hell and then have to do it again a couple of hours later, and then a couple of hours after that. By the end of the day, the bodies are wrecked.”