offered exactly the baptism of fire they had expected at the Punte del Este Stadium on Saturday.

Up against Argentina, now considered one of the world's top 10 rugby nations, Bermuda suffered a 63-0 mauling as the South Americans ran in nine tries.

There was slightly more to cheer about in the Island's second game against Germany -- quarter-finalists at the Hong Kong Sevens last year -- as Bermuda stormed into a 12-7 lead in the first half with tries from Mike Gorrie and Scott Correia.

But the Europeans hit back to lead 19-12 at the interval, and scored again immediately after the re-start prompting a series of Bermuda mistakes which saw them eventually go down 59-12.

In their third match, Bermuda again briefly held the lead against Papua New Guinea through an Andrew Correia try. But PNG's superior fitness and the experience of competing in the Hong Kong tournament for the past eight years proved too much for Bermuda as they were eventually beaten 41-5.

National coach Kieran Peacock, however, was far from despondent.

"The (16-nation) tournament has some of the greatest sevens-playing countries in the world including Argentina, France and favourites Western Samoa,'' pointed out Peacock. "Yet at the end of a gruelling day's competition, I think Bermuda emerged with much credit.

"The scores failed to do justice to the excellent competitive performances of the Bermuda side.'' Bermuda weren't the only team to suffer heavy defeats.

Trinidad and Tobago, the Caribbean 15-a-side runners-up, were crushed 55-0 by Western Samoa. But they bounced back to beat Israel 19-15 and Paraguay 15-7 to progress to the final stages of the competition.

Bermuda, meanwhile, were scheduled to take on Holland or Paraguay in the bowl competition late yesterday with no chance of now qualifying for the World Cup finals in Hong Kong in March.

The five places at stake are likely to go to Argentina, Western Samoa, France, Japan and either Cook Islands, Germany or Chile.

Added Peacock: "I think Bermuda can be proud of their efforts in the this, their first attempt at qualifying for the World Cup. They can only learn from the experience.

"There is nothing quite like competing against the world's best players and with sides from all over the world the competition here in Uruguay has proved a cultural and sporting extravaganza.''