A change of heart by the International Rugby Board looks to have left the Island?s Commonwealth Games dream in disarray.

Bermuda?s rugby sevens team thought they?d booked their place at the Melbourne showpiece in 2006 after being crowned Caribbean champions in June.

But their hard-fought victory over Jamaica in the semi-finals of the World Cup qualifying tournament may have been for nothing after an apparent change of policy by the International Rugby Board (IRB).

Although losing to the US in the final of the Cayman event earlier this summer, the Island side earned the right to represent the Caribbean in the Los Angeles Sevens in February next year as well as a place at the Commonwealth Games.

But now the North American and West Indies Rugby Association (NAWIRA) have instead decided to send a West Indies Select side to LA and the Commonwealth Games place also now appears to be in doubt.

?All the lads are pretty disappointed,? said Bobby Hurdle, skipper of the team that recorded wins over St. Lucia, Guyana, St. Vincent & the Grenadines, Trinidad & Tobago ? who competed in the 2002 Commonwealth Games ? and Jamaica to earn what they thought were spots in the two major tournaments.

?We were far from being favourites to win the Caribbean tournament but we played some great rugby and won some games no-one expected us to win.

?It was a great performance by the guys and we thought we would be going to LA and then the Commonwealth ? LA is now definitely out and it looks like Melbourne could go the same way.

?We worked hard and to see the goalposts suddenly moved is upsetting for everyone concerned and a shame for rugby in Bermuda.?

The blow has been partially softened as some Bermuda players may be selected to play in the West Indies side in the LA tournament, although Hurdle admitted that it was far from definite, ?depending on the coach, the other players and any number of other factors?.

The Sevens skipper conceded that there was nothing that could be done to reverse the decision over the LA tournament but said they would do their best to try and push for a place in the Commonwealth Games.

With one eye on Melbourne, the side had put together a series of international fixtures, including taking part in the New York Sevens on the last weekend of November as well as a trip to tournaments in either Mexico or Florida next summer.

Although they are still hoping to fulfil that schedule, the loss of the substantial carrot of a trip to the Sevens showpiece in Melbourne has taken a lot of the shine off the Bermuda Rugby Football Union?s plans.

?We will still play in these events but they were originally part of our preparations for Melbourne, so it won?t quite be the same,? admitted a frustrated Hurdle.

John Hoskins, chairman of the Bermuda Olympic Association, said he had only been made aware of the situation this week but vowed to contact the Commonwealth Games Federation ?in the next few days? to try and clarify the situation.

?It is not something I know an enormous amount about at this time,? said Hoskins.

?I will certainly be looking into it. It is an interesting situation because the Commonwealth is split into regions and Bermuda is in the Americas region and not the Caribbean.

?Ultimately it will probably be a decision for the International Rugby Board but we can certainly make representations.

?There is some doubt about how they are going to be inviting teams for the sevens because at the last Games there were some very big scores posted against some of the smaller countries ? in fact, it was getting a little ridiculous.

?But I would very much like to see us send a sevens team, it is a case of the more Bermudians the better as far as we are concerned.?

Neither the IRB nor the Commonwealth Games Federation could be contacted for comment last night.