With history being the driving force of their campaign, the Jamaican female rugby team will be hoping to put on a good showing at the World Rugby Women’s Seven Series Qualifiers tournament in Hong Kong, China.

The team, which created history by becoming the first Jamaican female team to win the Caribbean title at the Rugby Americas North (RAN) tournament, is also the first Caribbean team to be invited to the world-famous Hong Kong tournament.

A 12-member squad comprising seven local players and five Canada-based players are scheduled to depart the island today for the tournament, which features 12 teams drawn from each of World Rugby’s six regions. The winner will be promoted to the HSBC World Rugby Women’s Sevens Series 2017/18.

Jamaica’s talented bunch will contest Pool A alongside Japan, China and the Netherlands between April 6 and 7, before returning to the island on April 9. The team’s placing coming out of the group will determine who they play next.

Jerry Benswick, who will assist Canada-based Head Coach Clarence Brown, pointed out that the girls are rearing to go and will be a force to reckon with.

He added that the team will also benefit from the knowledge and expertise of one of Canada’s top seven-a-side players, Phillip Mac, who will be joining the coaching staff on the trip to the south-eastern Chinese territory.

“We are looking forward to being a part of that (HSBC Series), but we have to win our qualifiers because now we are going to Hong Kong as the Caribbean champions. Our preparation has been good; the girls are working hard and we continue to work with them to get them to gel and become a cohesive unit and then go in to Hong Kong and win.

“The Canadians bring a level of knowledge, expertise, skill and structure to our game because of their training and experience, and the Jamaican players bring a lot of flair and speed. So it’s a combination of strength, speed and structure which makes us a very dangerous team,” Benswick told the

Jamaica Observer when the team visited the tabloids Beechwood Avenue offices on Monday.

Having been a part of the national programme for over two years, Tiera Thomas-Reynolds, co-captain of the team and one of the five Canadian players, also expressed confidence that they can spring a surprise at the tournament.

“We have been working hard together and the camaraderie is great; we all love the sport and so we are working to make Jamaican rugby history. We have been training four to five days a week to ensure that we are mentally and physically prepared for the tournament,” Thomas-Reynolds explained.

Meanwhile, the men’s team, which placed second behind Guyana in the Caribbean region, will be playing on April 8 and 9, also in Pool A, alongside Germany, Tonga and Uganda.

Their qualifying tournament features 12 teams, two from each of World Rugby’s six regions, with the winner being promoted to the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series also in 2017/18.

The male unit comprises nine England-based players and three locals.

Despite securing a few valued sponsors in making the trip possible, Benswick used the opportunity to plead for more help to fund their “overhead costs” and by extension the programme going forward.

“Even though we have already put some things in place we still have a little financial issue and we need more sponsors. The SDF (Sports Development Foundation) is helping us out and the JOA (Jamaica Olympic Association) was trying to get us gear, but that’s not coming up, so we still need more help because it is a grass-roots sport,” Benswick noted.

Women’s squad — Tiera Thomas-Reynolds (Co-Captain), Lisa Frazer (Captain), Dae-Marie Whyte, Sasha-Gaye Green, Christena Gayle, Crystal Groves, Shanice Steward, Tamara Dixon, Arielle Dubissette-Bornice, Rose Baker, Davine Burton, Debisha Scarlett.

— Sherdon Cowan