Jamaica will be represented by a record 15 sporting disciplines at the Commonwealth Games in Australia next month, and one of the new sports that the island will be featured in is rugby sevens.

Jamaica qualified for the Commonwealth Games by winning the Rugby America’s North Seven-A-Side tournament in Mexico in November.

The Jamaica Rugby Football Union Chairman Jerry Benzwick is hoping that his players will take full advantage of the opportunity that has presented itself.

“I wish I was playing,” he blurted out. “I feel it’s a wonderful challenge. We can seize the moment. I want us to have a good showing. I am nervous. We are up against some really good teams, well-trained, solid players, but our players are really good too.”

Benzwick is focused on having the team at peak performance right at the start of the tournament, next month.

“I have a lot of faith in them and we’re trying to get them developed in the right way. What we need to focus on I think is getting them proper nutrition, conditioned and ready, so when they get there the nerves don’t kick in. Luckily we’re going to have an opportunity to play some of them (Commonwealth competitors) beforehand in Hong Kong and they’ll be going over (to Australia) well seasoned and battle ready — that’s best,” he suggested.

The chairman believes the pre-Commonwealth Games tournament in Hong Kong is the perfect preparation for the team.

“The funny thing about rugby is that you think that you will be tired after playing a full round of three days or three days of sevens, but you actually feel more ready to go than tired when you get an opportunity to play. A quick recovery then you’re back, so we are excited.”

Benzwick is hoping that this will be the deal breaker, the thing that makes the entire country fall in love with the game and share in the passion of it the way he does.

“The whole rugby community is excited. I’m over the moon. I’m hoping that locally we can get a strong following from Jamaica out of the Commonwealth Games. We hope people will watch it on television and see it; they will realise that it’s just a great sport and it brings a lot to the table. I want to take it into Jamaica into the grassroots, communities, schools, everywhere and make this sport just mulch up, and grow like a big sore — jus buss out.”

According to Benzwick, the game is suited for just about anyone who is willing to give it a try.

“Once I can get all of Jamaica to love rugby, to play it, girls, boys, adults — because everybody can play. There are so many different facets to it. There is touch rugby which is no contact; there is flag rugby which is zero contact in which you just pull up flags.”

By all accounts, based on the exercise it provides, it is completely worth taking up the challenge, he said.

“Once we can get all of Jamaica to like it and say it’s not so bad, it’s fun. It gives a lot of exercise, it’s constant running for a long time, it’s non-stop running for the whole time. If you run five minutes on a rugby field I can guarantee you that when you come off you are thinking did I just run a million miles; you feel busted.”

Should he get a buy-in from the population like he is hoping after the games next month, then it will be adios and time for the beach.

“So, we want to get Jamaica really excited about the sport and if that happens — den mi can tek weh myself and gi smaddy else di chairman ting fi do… because my job would have been done. I just want to get Jamaica to love it, play it, buy into it wholesale, and I can go chill on the beach where I belong,” he concluded.