Jamaica set for World Rugby Sevens Series Qualifying Competition

​​​​​​​Think of Jamaican sport and you will immediately picture Usain Bolt tearing up the running track or Chris Gayle striking the ball back over the bowler's head for six. 

However, there is a new game gathering momentum on the island and, with a little help from their UK-based descendants, it is set to give the proud sporting nation even more to cheer about.

This week, the Jamaican Rugby Sevens team, or the Jamaica Crocs, as they are known, will head to the World Rugby Sevens Series Qualifying in Hong Kong with ambitions of breaking into the world top 20 for the first time.

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Since Jamaica last featured in the qualifying competition in Hong Kong, back in 2013 - a tournament in which they weren't able to register a victory - former England 7's star James Bailey has set up a UK base for players with Jamaican heritage, with the mantle being taken up by the former Aviva Premiership and TOP14 try-scoring machine Marcel Garvey in more recent times.

Conan Osbourne was one of the first to join the programme and has experienced first-hand the development of the team over the last two years.

"The biggest change is the amount we are playing and the inclusion of players not based on the island. Playing in the UK Super Sevens Series last year gave us a lot of exposure both in terms of match experience and for other British players with Jamaican blood to find out about our programme."

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The Jamaican squad at Hong Kong will be made up mainly of UK-based players but will include three natives from the island and Osbourne believes the influx of British players will only improve the quality of players in Jamaica.

"I regularly speak to boys back on the island who played before but are not quite making the squad at the minute. They're telling me that they are working hard, want to get to this weight, want to get to this speed, because they know that the bar has been raised. Everyone is getting hungry for it and they want to be part of it."

One of the newest members of the squad, who will add his vast 7s experience on the big stage, is London-based Gareth Stoppani.

Stoppani, who represented New York in the World Club 7s at Twickenham and turned down an invitation to join up with the USA Eagles training camp to return to the UK, sees Hong Kong as just the start for Jamaican rugby.

"Qualifying for Hong Kong was a massive achievement for Jamaica and hopefully the start of big things to come. It is however important that we take it step by step, even if it's just a win or two wins in Hong Kong its building blocks and will get heads turning.

"The more we play together, especially on the big stage the better we will become and there is no reason why we can't target the Commonwealth Games and World Cup in San Francisco next year."

Stoppani is, however, quick to point out that this isn't just about the next year or even the current crop of players.

"The journey is not about us, it's about Jamaica Rugby. Everything we do is trying to build the popularity of game in the country. We have two great sponsors in Budgy Smugglers and the Jamaica Patty Company, and they are very keen to ensure that work is done to grow grassroots rugby on the island.

"The work we are doing is being reported back and success in Hong Kong will only help grow the popularity of the game over there. On top of this we have a planned exhibition game against the island at the end of the year.

"The goal is to inspire the next generation of players, get young Jamaicans playing the game, and who knows, maybe we will find a Jamaican sprinter and turn him into a Carlin Isles."

Jamaican-born Tyronie Rowe, who came to England seven years ago, echoed Stoppani' s words.

"People back home are aware of what is happening over here and we all understand how important it is to the programme to have the experience of the British players.

"I started playing rugby in high school, but it is hard to compete with track and field. Any success we have as a team at international level will hopefully encourage kids to pick up a rugby ball instead of head for the running track."

Jamaica have been drawn in Group E alongside Germany, Uganda and Tonga. It's a tough pool for the Crocs, with Uganda in particular - who have featured in the Dubai and Cape Town legs of the Worlds Sevens Series earlier in the year - a formidable force.

Jamaica are certainly the underdogs, but that is how they like it, and on the big stage, anything can happen.