Bermuda Under-19 coach Chris Naylor has complimented his players for their fearless display against Boston Rugby Football Club in the first friendly match at North Field, National Sports Centre, on Friday.

The match ended 31-12 in favour of the visiting team, whose players are drawn from different schools in Boston.

Asher Wheddon and Jahir Smith, playing in his first contact rugby game, scored the tries for Bermuda and captain Dylan Sangster kicked in one conversion.

With Bermuda using the matches to prepare for the Rugby Americas North tournament this summer, Naylor was delighted to see the performance from his players.

“I was really pleased with the effort of the boys yesterday up against a strong Boston Rugby Club team,” Naylor told The Royal Gazette.

“We were outgunned a little bit as far as size and experience is concerned, but the commitment that the lads showed was really impressive.

“We didn’t take a step backwards in any of the contact situations, so I thought that was awesome and we got a couple of tries.

“Asher Wheddon went over from close range and then Jahir Smith late on in the game made a nice break and scored, which was satisfying to see as a reward for the hard work put in by the two players.

“I’d like to see our boys get the ball wide a little bit more, but credit to the Boston team. It was quite a tight game and all route one even though they had a couple of nice backs in their squad.

“Overall, I’m very content with the outcome, although it’s a defeat, since it’s the first time these boys got together and played. I’m so proud of their achievement and proud of their commitment to the course.”

At an impromptu awards ceremony held at the NSC Pavilion, Bermuda’s centre pairing of Smith and Nyindae Smith got recognised as the MVPs by the opposition. Bermuda voted for Boston hooker Ronaldo Rabelo as the most outstanding player from the American side.

The two teams meet again on Sunday at the same venue, with Bermuda contemplating beefing up their squad with some older players.

“We go again on Sunday and we're looking forward to that,” Naylor said.

“We might bulk up the team a little bit with some of our slightly older boys for the second match, but that’ll be a conversation with the Boston coaches to see whether that is the case.”