THE Whitney Sevens rugby tournament was always a mainstay on the school sports calendar. Often players such as current Bermuda captain Derek (Bobby) Hurdle were drawn into the sport by the annual competition.

However the tournament, which goes back over 40 years, fell on hard times.

Now Sandys Middle School teacher and Teachers Rugby Club player, Chris Naylor, is hoping to jump-start the Whitney Sevens again ? but this time make it the Sandys Sevens tournament.

Naylor, who also plays for the national team, said: "When I first arrived in Bermuda (in 2000) a lot of the older guys in rugby always talked about the Whitney Sevens. Many of the top Bermudian players had their first exposure to the sport in the Whitney Sevens and it would be great if we could rejuvenate it as a middle schools tournament. We are looking at ways to get it up and running again.

"It is still early days yet but things have been happening in school rugby over the past couple of years. We have four schools involved in rugby now ? my school Sandys along with Spice Valley, Warwick Academy and Saltus. We have been playing fairly regular games amongst us from Christmas to Easter."

And Naylor likes what he sees in Bermuda's youngsters. "The kids are so enthusiastic about it," he said. "They are pretty raw and technique wise they still have a lot to improve on, but for shear athleticism they are very good. There is a lot of raw talent in Bermuda and the kids really love the (physical) contact rugby has. Trying to get them to play touch rugby is almost impossible. They just want to tackle."

In an effort to get the schools regularly involved with rugby again, Naylor said he hoped to be hosting a tournament at Sandys this year. "I have had the support of the Principal (of the school)," he said.

"I am looking to having it towards the end of March ? an all-day tournament before the Easter break involving the four schools. It will probably be seven-a-side games. At some point in the future we can play 15-a-side. Years ago everyone talked about the Whitney Sevens and now we want to establish the Sandys Sevens. Hopefully in years to come Bermudians will say 'I started playing in the Sandys Sevens'. I know Bobby Hurdle has always said that he started at the Whitney Sevens."

Decades ago many teachers in Bermuda's schools played and coached rugby ? hence the formation of Teachers Rugby Football Club. But Naylor said that has changed. "We have difficulties because a lot of school teachers have a problem coaching a contact sport they don't know anything about. There are not as many expat teachers in Bermuda now with experience in rugby."

Right now the plan is to get the middle schools playing. "But there is a gap in high schools. That is a crucial gap because we want those 16 and 17 year olds and there are plans to fill that gap. It is just a matter of working out how to do that.

"We ask for help every year from senior players (at the island's four clubs) but they have to leave their jobs at 3.30 and for a lot of them it is just not possible."

And Naylor has no qualms about holding up top black Bermuda players like Bobby Hurdle and Anthony (Church) Cupidor as examples of Bermudians excelling in the sport. "Bobby is a fantastic role model because he is young black male who has done very well. When kids see people like Bobby and Church hopefully they will realise that rugby is not just a white expat sport."

And if the tournament can again become a mainstay in the school sports calendar, it can only help Bermuda's national team, said Naylor.

"The end product will be to have the kids eventually playing for the clubs here (Teachers, Renegades, Mariners and Police) and then playing for Bermuda. That is one of the main reasons to get the tournament back up and running."

If students decide to go away to universities they can continue with their rugby. "Rugby is played a lot in colleges overseas ? certainly in the UK and they do play it a lot in Canada and to a lesser extent in the US where it is a growing sport. In Canada it has become fairly well established at colleges. In fact we get Canadian college teams coming down to Bermuda for tours."

Youngsters in Bermuda are also being introduced to the sport at an even younger age as the mini rugby sessions on Sunday mornings have been proving to be popular.

"The mini rugby sessions are taking off," said Naylor adding, "last year we had about 140 kids out on Sunday mornings at the Saltus field from 10.30 to midday. We recently just started it up again and had 70 to 80 kids without any advertisements. And that number will grow as time goes on."