Bermuda will not be in the 2006 Rugby World Cup.

Their Wednesday night loss to The Bahamas in Nassau scuppered any chance of advancing in the regional qualifiers.

Playing in the Americas zone tournament, coach Pete Shillingford?s men went down to the hosts 24-15.

Having drawn 10-10 with Jamaica last Sunday, Bermuda needed a victory to stay alive in the round-robin competition from which the winners progress to the next stage of qualifying action.

?Unfortunately it means we don?t qualify for the following round of the World Cup. This is a round-robin championship so only the winners go through. Because we drew on Sunday and lost yesterday (Wednesday) we can?t qualify now. It?s not possible,? lamented assistant coach Lawrence Bird.

He said that The Bahamas, who led throughout, played ?very aggressively with defence and they tackled extremely hard?.

?Sadly, I think that did rattle us. It interfered with our game plan and we didn?t really stick to our game plan as a result.

?We panicked a little bit and lost the game. Altogether, we were a bit too loose really,? elaborated the team official, adding that Bermuda desperately sought two more tries near the end.

All that?s left is for Bermuda to attempt to finish on a high note by beating the Cayman Islands in tomorrow?s final fixture.

?We will obviously aim to win that. It?s all about pride now so that?s what we?re up to. We?re going to let the boys relax a bit before we pick things up again for Saturday,? said Bird.

?They will be up for the game. They are already talking about it. They were very disappointed last night after the game but they should pick themselves up.

?There?s tremendous experience in the squad and they will certainly try very hard. I think we can beat the Caymans.?