By BRENT STUBBS

Chief Sports Editor

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

The Bahamas Rugby Union is preparing to host the Jamaican national team in a friendly but competitive match 4pm Saturday at the Winton Rugby Pitch.

Over the weekend, following a joint practice between players from New Providence and Grand Bahama, the BRU selected 18 of their 23-member team.

According to head coach Stephen Thompson, the remaining five players will be selected by Wednesday and it will be based on their fitness level.

Although the regular season for the BRU ended at the end of April, Thompson said the players have been working out in practices on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, with the exception of Saturday and Sunday for the camp to accommodate eight players who came in from Grand Bahama. “We don’t have as many players as we’ve had in the past because of the break in the action here,” Thompson lamented. “But we have an active youth programme and we’re trying to integrate some of them into our men’s programme.”

Thompson, however, said they have had a good, solid core of players coming out to practice and he feels they have selected a very strong team to take on Jamaica.

Selected so far are Odel Armbrister, Daquan Blyden, Jethro Bullard, Kevin Charlton, Kevin Deveaux, Kwmae Garland, Mark Hammerton, Jordan Isaacs, Josh Purcell, Kyle Rolle, Travis Sherman, Taj Smith, Alex Storr, Luke Thompson, Adam Waterhouse and Alonzo Williams.

Charlton, one of the players from Grand Bahama, said the Bahamian fans, and even those from Jamaica, can come out and watch a very good and entertaining game on Saturday, starting at 4pm at the Winton rugby pitch.

“It’s going to be a lot of energy,” he said. “Looking at what we have to work with, we will have a decent team, a nice young team. We are coming out to compete. “I know the guys from Jamaica. They are always playing rugby. But they’re coming to Nassau and we’re looking to avenge our loss to them the last time we played them.”

With an active, vibrant programme in Grand Bahama, Charlton said the players selected to Team Bahamas are going to put on a show. But he noted that it’s a team effort and so they expect all of the players to put their best forward.

“We got a lot of good rugby down there this year,” Charlton said. “A lot of young bodies, young guys coming through the pipeline right now. 

“But we have some very good players from Nassau on this team. So I think once we combine our efforts, we should be able to come out with the W this time around against Jamaica.”

Storr, one of the players from New Providence, is making his third men’s cap, including the under-19 men’s team, since he started playing rugby in 2012.

He’s just as eager as Charlton to see how well Team Bahamas performs against Jamaica.

“I’m really excited and happy to have rugby back in the Bahamas,” Storr said. “I’m glad to see the sport growing and continuing to develop. I’m definitely excited to see where we are going in this return.”

He noted that the BRU could not have chosen a better team than Jamaica for the Bahamas national team to get its feet wet again against some top notch international competition.

“It’s going to be a lot of ener4gy. Hopefully the boys remain disciplined,” Storr said. “We shoulddef=intely have some big hits and a lot of tries.”

As for the opportunity to reunite with the players from Grand Bahama, Storr said anytime they get to interact with them, whether it’s in a friendly match or at the national level, it’s something special for all the players to look forward to.

“Glad to be playing alongside some of the boys whom I played against this year, so it should be good,” Storr summed up.

The game, sponsored by Capital Union Bank, is scheduled to kick off at 4 pm at the Winton Rugby Pitch. The entry fee is $5 per person.