Bermuda's interest in the 2011 Rugby World Cup was brought to a halt by Guyana in the Cayman Islands yesterday.

The two sides met in the semi-finals of the 2008 Caribbean Championship, which is doubling-up as the first stage of the World Cup qualifiers, and Guyana won a rather feisty encounter 25-13.

Referee Tony Spredbury sin-binned two players, one from each side, after a fight erupted in the first half, and then went back to his pocket again in the second when Guyana pulled down a maul.

There were various other flash points, as both sides got stuck into a physical tussle.

A Ryan George try mid-way through the second half took Guyana out of reach, and although Bermuda tried to fight back, they lost the ball at crucial times, and were turned over too frequently to pose an effective attacking threat.

George's try came from a scrum in front of the Bermuda posts, with the scrum-half being able to sneak unmolested down the blind side to score the decisive points.

It could have been a lot worse for Bermuda who were exposed by the raw pace of Theodore Henry, the wing, as they chased the game in the closing stages.

Even when Bermuda did get some possession, the move invariably broke down as they rushed in a desperate attempt to save the game.

They did breach the Guyana line twice though, with Ben Beasley and Kris Furbert crossing. Mike Kane also kicked a penalty, and if Bermuda had stuck to their game plan of keeping things tight, it all might have been so different.

It was a disappointing end to the campaign for Bermuda, who had gone into the game with realistic hopes of progressing to Sunday's final. Coach Lawrence Bird however refused to be too downhearted.

"We got punished where we said we would get punished," said Bird. "We made mistakes, and they are a very athletic side who took advantage of them. They play a hard physical game as well, which we like, but they stuck at it, and deserved to win."

Bermuda will now face either Barbados or Trinidad and Tobago in the plate final on Saturday at 4.30 p.m. Bermuda time, and Bird said the side was fully focused on winning that match.

"Obviously the boys are disappointed with the result. But we've had a good run, and apart from a couple of bumps and bruises we are in good shape and looking forward to the game at the weekend.

"We'll have a light training session before hand, and then be fully prepared to play again." The plate final will be shown live on caymanrugby.com