Hands On! with Gareth Nokes

Bermuda are in the middle of their Rugby Americas North Championship campaign for 2017. This weekend will see Bermuda at home to the Cayman Islands. This week Americas Rugby News had the opportunity to talk with Bermuda Rugby Chairman Gareth Nokes to discuss the team’s campaign, development and the issues surrounding changes to player eligibility laws.

How is preparation going for Bermuda’s home test match against the Cayman Islands?

Preparations are all set and we are looking forward to hosting our friends from Cayman. Our national stadium is one of the best playing surfaces in North American Rugby and I’m sure Cayman are looking forward to the visit. It should be an entertaining and competitive match. Cayman, like Bermuda, suffered a heavy defeat in their last match against USA South Panthers and I’m sure, like Bermuda, they are looking to a competitive match against a more comparable nation.

Bermuda fell 59-7 to Mexico earlier this month. What do you attribute this to?

Mexico were simply the better team! Their playing numbers, budgets, and ambitions have been increasing for a number of years and they are clearly worthy winners of last year’s tournament. We were under no illusions – it was always going to be a tough match for Bermuda. Bermuda Rugby is in somewhat of a transition as evidenced by the fact that towards the end of the Mexico match we had six players from our u18s team on the pitch – playing alongside a number of over-40s!

Bermuda won the NACRA (now Rugby Americas North) Caribbean Championship in 2011 and 2012 but is now behind Mexico, Trinidad & Tobago, Guyana, the Cayman Islands, and Jamaica. How has the competition changed in the region over this period?

It is relatively simple. Rugby has always been popular in Bermuda, however the island’s population has been in decline for a number of years. Notably among the ex-pat community upon whom rugby has historically relied heavily. We have a population of only 55,000 whereas the likes of Mexico probably has more registered rugby players than the entire population of Bermuda!

[ed. note – According to World Rugby’s 2016 numbers Mexico has 6,168 registered players and 56,403 ‘total’ players. By contrast Bermuda has 794 and 1,598 respectively.]

I don’t necessarily believe our standards have dropped but it is clear the others have improved. Bermuda rugby gets very, very little external funding and yet the sport is blossoming among the island’s youth and we continue to work hard to attract sponsorship. Unlike other larger nations or those with significant financial support we are unable to pay for coaches and equipment.

Instead our focus in recent years has been on developing local youths who historically would not have considered playing rugby. This has proven to be a great success with young Bermudians playing alongside experienced, often ex-pat, players. We believe this is an important step to ensure rugby continues to grow and is sustainable in Bermuda. We must, however, acknowledge our ability in the future to compete with the likes of Mexico and other larger nations in the 15-a-side game will be a challenge if these nations continue to get the investment and growth in playing numbers seen in recent years.

How can a Rugby Americas North side close the gap on Canada and the USA?

Honestly, it can’t. I can only see the gap widening, not narrowing. Nations such as Bermuda have a small population and will always have limited, finite player numbers. The likes of Canada and the USA – especially now with their inclusion in the HSBC Sevens Series, the Olympics, and the onset of professional leagues – will see player numbers grow at a rate exponentially greater than almost any of the ‘lesser’ nations in the coming years.

We have our u18s heading to the Youth Olympic Games qualifiers in Las Vegas. Bermuda is the only Americas nation other than Canada and the USA to compete. I think this is reflective of the region’s ambitions and budgetary constraints outside of the ‘mega’ nations.

We go to such competitions knowing we simply can’t compete on the scoreboard, so we set lower targets such as trying to score a try in each game or concede less than 50 points. In time this will become demoralizing for everybody and is something that RAN must address if nations such as Bermuda wish to maintain their status in World Rugby. Otherwise I’m convinced nations will drop out of formal regional competitions and focus on friendly matches arranged directly with other nations of similar standings.

Paraguay, Colombia, Mexico, Trinidad & Tobago, Guyana, and Cayman are currently ranked from 7-12 in the Americas. Do you support the idea of setting up an Americas Rugby ‘B’ Championship?

I would support anything which makes the game competitive and enjoyable. We are and always will be an amateur nation. We play the game for enjoyment and as much as everybody is competitive and wants to win, keeping enjoyment in the game and finding a way to allow as many players as possible to play rugby should, in my opinion, be the focus of any regulatory body as well as reducing the administrative burden on unions not run by full-time paid employees.

What does the newly announced change of player eligibility laws from three years residency to five mean for Bermuda?

It has the potential to cripple Bermuda Rugby. We are a small amateur rugby nation. We are not Fiji or Samoa with a great rugby culture producing a conveyor-belt of world class players. Whilst we understand what World Rugby are trying to protect, I don’t believe a ‘one size fits all’ approach is appropriate if they truly believed in their mantra to grow the game.

As I mentioned earlier Bermuda Rugby is in a transition phase with many local youngsters recently introduced to rugby. We have some fine local athletes but rely on ex-pats, many of whom have played rugby to a high club standard in Europe or elsewhere, to coach and share their knowledge of the game with these kids.

Many ex-pats in Bermuda, however, leave within five years and extending the eligibility rules means many of these won’t have ambitions to play for Bermuda. The result is these players will leave the sport or decide not to continue playing without having passed on their knowledge and skills to our youth.

At this point in time we do not have sufficient ‘pure’ Bermudian players to field a competitive 15-a-side team. We will be forced to have inexperienced youngsters playing in positions which need experience and strength. For instance most of our tight five are currently ex-pats. With the changes in rules we will be forced into playing young Bermudian props which is dangerous. I believe this is true for many developing nations. It is often ex-pats who have played rugby for many years, who love the sport and who are often past their prime playing days who then invest in their newly-adopted local communities and inspire, coach, and attract others to join them. Limiting the ability of these players to share their knowledge, coach their skills to others, and generally help grow the game is detrimental to the sport.

Clearly World Rugby is concerned about the number of ‘Project Players’ in leading teams. For instance WP Nel, CJ Stander, and Nathan Hughes. Do you believe different rules would be appropriate for different tiers?

A tiered approach would seem reasonable. Professionalism will inevitably result in players going overseas to play rugby if they can earn more than in their home nation. We would love for one of our Bermudians to play professionally and reinvest in Bermuda Rugby! Interestingly the ideology of Pacific Island players playing in Europe instead choosing to remain in the islands to play for their country is nonsense. Money talks and often these players are sending money back home to support their families and in some cases the entire village! Faced with a choice of earning £25,000 to play for one of the home nations or £400 to play for your country of birth, the answer is simple.

Players have short careers and their earnings potential is limited. They will always take the money and therefore World Rugby needs to focus on wealth distribution in the game where so much is retained in those ‘traditional’ rugby nations who, admittedly, produce the income. In terms of tiers, if World Rugby can re-distribute the wealth properly this would ensure those players are not faced with decisions based almost entirely on financial gain. Fully professional Tier 1 nations could have a 10-year residency rule with a stagger-down period to Tier 3 or 4 nations such as Bermuda who are 100% amateur and with a small, finite playing base. A one-year residency rule [for Bermuda] may allow us to field an informed and reasonably competitive 15-a-side team.

Gareth Nokes is the Chairman of Bermuda Rugby. Find out more about rugby in Bermuda at the official BRFU website, their Facebook page, and on Twitter.