Brian Archibald has included a few surprises in his Bermuda squad for their Americas North Championship opener against Mexico at the North Field, National Sports Centre, tomorrow.

Archibald has named eight debutants in his 23-man squad while there is a return for experienced fly half Chris Naylor and a positional shift for player of the year Tashon DeSilva at centre.

Among the newcomers is Tyler Kendall, the Saltus Grammar School captain, who has been rewarded for his fine performances during his first senior season for Teachers in the domestic league.

Archibald, who has succeeded Rudolph Van der Westhuizen at the helm, has several front-row options in first-timers Ben Green, Simon Petler and Anthony Sousa, while the “tight five” are expected to be Pete Dunkerly, Aldo Campbell, Dick Reno, Adam Richards and Darren Richardson.

The half-back pairing options include Naylor, Tom Healy, Dan Cole and Rich Cumbers who will look to create openings for the likes of Chiquon Smith, Corey Boyce and Calum Maule — who are all debutants — and Jahniko Francis in the wider channels.

Artie Darrell, the team manager, is confident Bermuda will be competitive against Mexico, who beat Guyana 32-3 in last year’s final, and believes the Bermuda Rugby Football Union is benefiting from the strong emphasis it his placed on its youth programme.

“Bermuda have always been very strong in the Caribbean, and with great prospects coming up the ranks thanks to our amazing youth programmes, such as Beyond Rugby and the high school league, we have high hopes to be serious contenders against Mexico, and our other rivals, the Cayman Islands and USA South next month.”

“Our talented young players will have the chance to face tough competition, led by veterans who have fared very well at this level before. “

The match kicks off at 6pm, with free admission.

n Teachers Rugby Football Club have awarded scholarships worth $5,000 towards supporting the education of young players Corrie Cross, Joshua DeAllie and Tashon DeSilva.

“We have an abundance of young rugby players coming through our club, and we want to help them to achieve their full potential both on and off the pitch,” James Dockeray, the club secretary, said.

“After establishing the need for financial assistance in continuing the education of our young players, we created a scholarship fund, which we opened to all members of the TRFC Club.”

“TRFC is a family, and we support each other anyway that we can. We want what’s best for our young club members, and if we can help them to achieve their goals, then we must do so.

“Corrie, Josh and Tashon each wrote very compelling letters as to why they deserved our support and we are pleased to reward their hard work with financial assistance for their continued education.”

Cross will graduate from Warwick Academy next month, and will attend Coventry University in the autumn to study architecture.

DeAllie, graduated from Berkeley Institute, continuing his studies at Bermuda College. In the autumn, he will pursue a bachelor of laws at the University of West England.

DeSilva, has enrolled in courses at Bermuda College to study personal training with a goal of becoming a sports physical therapist.