Bermuda?s rugby stars will get a shot at one of the big boys next Saturday as the home team face one of their biggest challenges in recent years.

Derek (Bobby) Hurdle?s men will take on the losers of Wednesday?s World Rugby Classic plate semi-final in the opening game of finals day and the captain is losing forward to the clash.

A Bermuda side used to compete in the Classic, although they were restricted to using older backs in those encounters to stop them taking advantage of the less fit, aging sides, and that tradition is being brought back this year due to a lack of available opposition.

The home team competed admirably in those matches, once beating South Africa and finishing within five points of the all-conquering All Blacks, as Hurdle remembers it.

And after taking on either international sides or club teams in recent years, the Bermuda team are now going to get back in the spotlight against top-class opponents, with the money on their foes being one of the North American sides.

?It?s exciting,? said team skipper Hurdle.

?We had been hoping to get an international game or one of the club sides from the East Coast but because of time, scheduling and money restrictions we couldn?t do that.

?That was unfortunate but it has worked out well that they have let us take on a Classic side, just like we used to in the old days.?

?I have good memories of playing against teams in the Classic, although we were only able to use younger players in the forwards to keep it an even contest.

The Classic kicks off this weekend with the defending champions South Africa taking on Canada while the Lions, often slow starters in this event, coming up against a revved-up Team America.

The hard-hitting action continues on Monday when France take on Argentina followed by the antipodean clash between the All Blacks and the Aussies.

And the importance of the festival of rugby ? an unofficial over-35s World Cup ? is not lost on Hurdle.

?It is great for us as rugby players to have the sport thrust into the spotlight like this,? continued Hurdle.

?We get to see some of the game?s greats and our childhood heroes while some people get exposed to the sport for the first time.

?For the second year we are getting some of the players to come out and help with our youth coaching programme which should get the next generation of players interested.?

But the best thing about the Classic, claims Hurdle, is the way it pushes Bermuda?s players into a environment they would not normally get a chance to compete in.

?We all love to play rugby,? added the captain, whose brother Kevin opens the bowling for the national cricket team.

?But to play rugby when you have a couple of thousand people cheering you on is a wonderful experience for all the guys.

?We don?t normally get anywhere near that level of interest in our games so the Classic gives us a chance to play in front of a noisy crowd and we are grateful to the organisers for that opportunity.?