elite next month.

Hot on the heels of an excellent performance at the Hong Kong Sevens tournament, the West Indies side -- which features Island players Bobby Hurdle, Danny McGavern and Jon Cassidy -- have been invited to take part in the final rounds of the World Sevens Series in Britain.

The invitation from the International Rugby Board (IRB) -- accepted yesterday afternoon -- is a pat on the back for the fledgling Union whose players are all amateurs and who only began playing sevens a few short months ago.

The side's Bermuda-based manager John L.Williams said he was delighted to accept the invitation, but revealed the union would need in the order of $10,000 to cover overheads and issued an appeal for companies to get on board the Windies bandwagon and back the team.

The tournament -- the final two rounds of the series which began last November -- is being held at Twickenham in London on May 26, 27 and 28 and the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, Wales, on June 2 and 3.

Although the format has yet to be announced those taking part will be Argentina, Australia, Canada, England, Fiji, France, Georgia, New Zealand, Portugal, Russia, Samoa, Scotland, South Africa, Spain and Wales.

"As a result of Hong Kong they (the IRB) e-mailed us and said `would you like to attend?','' said Williams. "It's been going on for the last few days and we just made the decision today. We have accepted but we are now desperately looking for some funds. We are looking for $10,000. That would enable us to do a training camp in the UK for a week, take over reserve players, buy some more equipment and put the guys up in a reasonably good hotel,'' he added.

Without exposure to high-class competition such as this, the Windies are never going to improve, but Williams said embarking on such adventures were fraught with problems.

"All our players are strictly amateur. They are all young and are trying to carve out professional careers (outside the game),'' he said.

And unlike other teams who pull their members from a single nation, the West Indies side is made up of players from many different countries. Just getting the team in one place at one time can be a logistical nightmare.

However, Williams said he was confident that nearly all those who went to Asia would make the trip to Europe.

Windies stars head for Worlds From Page 23 "Obviously when we thinking about it we had to canvas all those that went to Hong Kong and as far as I am concerned 90 percent of the squad has said yes,'' he said.

From playing, in Williams' words, to "three men and a dog'' to now turning out in front tens of thousands at some of the best stadiums in the world, the sport in the region has taken great strides in a very short space of time.

"We have gone from a jack to a king. This is a different ballpark altogether,'' Williams said.

Hitting the heights: West Indies player Jason Miller is held aloft at a lineout during the recent Hong Kong Sevens tournament by team-mates and Bermudian stars, Danny McGavern (left) and Bobby Hurdle (partially hidden, right). The Windies team are now headed for the World Sevens tournament in Great Britain.