Former England rugby player Lee Mears has described a recent visit to St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) as an extraordinary experience.

Mears and his family spent the last two weeks at the Buccament Bay Resort, where he divided his time between soaking in the SVG sun, enjoying the sea and food, and coaching the young lads and some dads on the basics of the sport he played for more than 20 years.{{more}}

Mears, who played the hooker position (midfielder), said he enjoyed performing both functions.

“Basically there’s all the different families that bring their kids over, and I was the rugby guy, so being a former international, I was just trying to impart a bit of wisdom and make a lot of fun for the kids.

“The boys would turn up every day and couldn’t wait to get out and run around; so it’s really good fun. We had from six-year-olds, to 15-year-olds, but some of the dads got involved and we ended up with two one-hour sessions, with up to about 30 persons participating.

“I try to stay away from too much contact, but some of the little kids were like ‘can we do some contact?’ So, we did a bit of scrimmaging on one of the days and the lads were very keen.”

The young veteran (36 years old, played 263 times for Bath, 43 times for England, two world cups) commended the “excellent” sporting facilities found at the Resort, which caters to football, tennis, cricket, netball, diving and fitness enthusiasts, who visit the Resort from all around the world.

When he is not performing professional coaching duties in the United Kingdom, Mears takes care of the business aspect of rugby and will be an analyst during the upcoming World Cup, which takes place in his homeland this year.

Mears is one of many well-known sporting names who come to the Resort, and while there, share their wealth of knowledge with the other guests and locals.

He heaped praise on the Buccament Bay Resort for including top class sporting facilities and coaching as part of the amenities, and indicated that the Resort was a top of the line facility, found on a first class island.

“The Resort is fantastic. The food is phenomenal. I’ve had the crawfish and the lobster and they are fantastic!

“You know what you are gonna get when you come to the Caribbean in terms of the weather, but it’s been wonderful here. I’ve been to a number of Caribbean islands and St Vincent has been the friendliest. I’ve been really impressed.

“I can’t sing the praises enough and I definitely hope to be coming back.”