Bermuda under-14 girls coach Dan Roberts has applauded his players for finishing fourth at the Tropical Sevens in Florida.

Playing in their first overseas tournament, the Bermudianas picked up two wins in pool B, which saw them finish second to Utah Cannibals. In the last-four stage of the tournament, they were bested 24-7 by the United States West prior to a 27-7 defeat to Celtic Barbarians in the third-place play-off.

“I’m very proud of the team and how the tournament went,” Roberts told The Royal Gazette.

“It showed that our girls belong at the elite level of rugby in North America, with all other teams being select sides and some drawing from player pools of more than 1,500 girls in this age group.

“I’m especially pleased with the win against USA South, the first time a Bermuda team has beaten them at any level since 2011.

“The most impressive performance was against the eventual winners, Utah Cannibals, a select team of Polynesian players based in the US. We lost 19-14 but were the only team to score against them all tournament, their average score against other teams was 28-0.

“These results are even more impressive when you consider that the girls programme only started a year ago and this was our first tournament.

“Beyond the results, it has been great to see how close the team has become. The positive culture and high standards set by the players will allow us to push even further next season.”

Gillian Cross, the Bermuda Rugby Football Union women representative, commended the girls for their courageous display in Florida.

“Under the leadership of Dan Roberts and Dustin Archibald, I believe we’re moving in the right direction with this group of girls, who have done extremely well for their first official tournament, having placed fourth in a group of 10,” she said.

“It looks very good for Bermuda and the way we’re moving. Hopefully we can continue on this path and give them more opportunities like this to develop, flourish and keep rugby alive in Bermuda and globally from a woman’s perspective.

“We have an exciting schedule for women’s rugby this year. We are hosting Cayman women in July for a couple of games as a repeat from last year when we went over to Cayman.

“We’re also looking at a possible trip to Boston in June. We’re hoping that we’ll be able to field a team at the Rugby Americas North Sevens this year, but only time will tell as we're just kicking off our training for the sevens programme together with the men’s team.”

The boys team, under the mentorship of Ian Murch, battled through six encounters over the two days. While results did not go their way, Jason Hendrie, the BRFU rugby operations director, felt that the players from the two teams should look at their Tropical Sevens with satisfaction.

“Both squads can take immense pride not only in their performances over the weekend, but also in the way they represented Bermuda on the international stage.

“The players and coaching staff have put in tremendous work in the lead-up to Tropical Sevens. That preparation was clearly reflected in their performances against more experienced opposition.

“Perhaps most encouraging was how well both groups played while fully embracing the experience of competing overseas.

“That enjoyment, combined with their performances, will undoubtedly inspire and drive these players to continue progressing in the years ahead.”