Bermuda failed to reach the final of the inaugural West Indies Rugby Union Seven-A-Side tournament on Sunday when they were beaten 19-7 by Guadeloupe in the semi-finals.

The Bermudians, who got off to a flying start on Saturday by tallying a maximum nine points to top Pool C, defeated Bahamas 24-5 in their second match yesterday and lost 10-5 to Jamaica in their first, to qualify for the semis as the best fourth-placed team.

Hot favourites Trinidad and Tobago went on to win the tournament by defeating Guadeloupe 22-10, while Martinique toppled Cayman Islands 12-5 to capture the Plate final.

The top four teams from the preliminaries played for the main trophy while the bottom four competed in the Plate. On a hot afternoon at the Mona Bowl in a match which was full of big hits and fierce rucking and mauling, Bermuda lacked speed and teamwork up front.

So rough was the clash that several players -- mainly from the Guadeloupe team -- were left nursing cuts and bruises after a game in which Bermuda played well at the back.

Flyhalf Jon Cassidy was sin binned midway through the first half when he tried to block an opponent's kick, and charged into the player instead. The Bermudians felt that they were dealt an injustice by the ref's decision.

Scrum half Nathan Brown scored his team's points -- one try and a conversion.

His try was an easy one, as he burst speedily from the defending pack to run 30 yards over the line.

"It's a shame to lose in the semi-finals,'' said Brown later.

"I think I played well. I don't play a lot of sevens, but it's a good sign at this stage.'' However, Pete Shillingford, Bermuda's coach, was pleased with the team's overall performance in the two-day tournament.

"Nothing went wrong,'' he said "Obviously, Guadeloupe are a very, very good side. I think it was an even game.

"They were slightly more physical than us in the scrummages and line-outs -- they put us under pressure in those phases. But we got in a good tournament and the guys did well.''