Bermuda coach Pete Shillingford was delighted with his side?s 48-18 victory over Atlanta Renegades at the weekend but believes there is room for improvement ahead of next year?s World Cup qualifying campaign.

In the opening game of the World Rugby Classic finals day, the Island side treated fans on the overflowing bleachers to a powerful display of attacking rugby with strong work from the forwards constantly rewarded by scoring at will by the backs.

Although Bermuda crossed seven times in the encounter, no tries were notched in the closing 25 minutes as one of the side?s key weaknesses was exposed.

?Fitness has got to be our biggest concern,? said Shillingford, whose side were playing their first 15-a-side game since a loss to the Cayman Islands in last year?s Classic.

?We also have to work on our body angles going into contact ? where we dropped the ball a few times ? and our ball retention.

?We didn?t have a great first ten minutes where there were a few knock-ons and we looked a bit nervous. But after that I was very happy with a lot of what we did.

?I thought the forwards were excellent and they really dominated the scrimmages and line-outs and built an excellent platform for our backs.

?We do have some great backs and we were moving the ball nicely into the strike zones we wanted.?

Overall it was a strong performance for Bermuda, with captain Bobby Hurdle leading by example with another tireless display.

But with a World Cup qualifying campaign ahead, Shillingford knows there is much to work to do, especially as the side will only play a couple more games before the serious competition begins.

?This a good period for Bermuda rugby,? he continued.

?After a lull for a couple of years we have a pretty strong side at the moment and it was a good win for us. Yes, there are things to take out of the game that can make us stronger but it was a good first game for us.

?We are hoping to get a couple of games in before the spring, either with sides coming over here or us heading off to the States or Canada.

?I don?t want to single out any individuals but it would be fair to say all the units worked well. The front row did their job and the back row as did the centres and the wingers.?

The format for World Cup qualifying remains a mystery at the moment, Shillingford admitted, as both round-robin and straight knock-out formulae have been used in the past.

Meanwhile, the Sevens team, who were crowned Caribbean Champions in June and potentially secured a Commonwealth Games place, head off the Island next week for the New York Sevens.