Bermuda head into tonight’s rugby international with the Cayman Islands carrying genuine belief that they can upset their fiercest regional rivals.

The gap between the two British Overseas Territories is closing if the results of the last two years are anything to go by and coach Peter Dunkerley, who is taking joint charge of the fixture with Chris Naylor in the absence of head coach Brian Archibald, feels last year's narrow defeat in Cayman gives his side every reason for optimism.

A man who has played in this fixture many times, Dunkerley explains that the match at North Field (6pm) will carry a weight that goes well beyond the result.

“I’ve played against Cayman more times than I care to think about and they are our biggest rivals,” he said.

“This is the Rangers v Celtic or the United v City in our region. It’s that game that brings bragging rights until the next time we play.

“Two years ago in Bermuda, they humiliated us and the scoreboard was probably generous to us. Last year, though, we took the team to Cayman and were arguably the better team.

“I’m a big believer that the scoreboard doesn’t lie, but we were pretty unlucky to lose that game and it came down to a couple of our younger guys under pressure making maybe a couple of decisions that they might regret now.

“But we were really pleased just to know that we can compete against a good outfit like Cayman. Was last year a fluke? Did we outperform? Did they underestimate us? Friday night is going to be interesting.”

Bermuda rugby operates with significantly fewer resources than Cayman, who can boast a well-established permanent base, strong corporate backing and a large expatriate playing pool. Bermuda, in contrast, have had to build their game on more local foundations, with the starting XV for the recent game against Guyana all Bermudian.

That shift is the product of significant youth development work done over the past decade and Dunkerley believes the current crop of players possess the ability to cause Cayman problems.

“Historically, Bermuda rugby was built on good structure, good discipline, a dominant forward pack and winning good first-phase ball,” he said.

“But over the years it has evolved and we’ve now got some great athletes and guys who can produce moments of magic. We can win good possession and we do have the potential to dominate up front, but then we’ve got some game-breakers out wide.

“My philosophy on the game is pretty simple ― It’s all about the gain line. If you can get front-foot ball and if you can get over the gain line, it creates space and then it’s amazing what you can do. If you don’t have that, it's always going to be a tough day at the office.

“I thought that made the difference last year against Cayman. We carried hard, we were aggressive, we got over the gain line and gave the backs some good-front football. The question this time is whether we can do that again.”

One benefit of playing at home is the beautiful North Field pitch produced by the groundstaff at the National Sports Centre. With two cricket tournaments on the horizon, they may be hoping the ground is not churned up too much, with recent rain a concern, but Dunkerley is thankful for the pristine turf.

“I used to joke that I would have stopped playing ten years earlier if it wasn’t for North Field because it gives you that nice armchair ride,” he said.

“When your bones start to get a bit older, it kind of envelops you and looks after you when you hit the ground. It is certainly the best in the region and something we can be proud of.”

In certain circles, rugby in Bermuda still has the undeserving reputation of being a largely White expatriate sport, but anyone turning up to watch the match today will see that myth dispelled in front of their eyes.

A diverse, community-rooted group aged from about 20 to 40 and largely self-funded will be taking to the pitch and that is something the island should be proud of.

“You’ve got Black, White, young, old, all on the same pitch and all playing together,” Dunkerley said.

“People playing here have come from all walks of life and that is something I’ve always loved about this game. It’s a real mixer.”