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Rugby action went ahead at Police Field on Sunday without being effected by the wrong schedule of games being erroneously reported in the weekend preview. It is a shame as the big game was the much anticipated league deciding match up between Renegades and Teachers followed up by the wooden spoon decider between Mariners and Police, both went on with out the deserved fanfare.

In a winners takes all league encounter between Renegades and Teachers, the conditions for open attacking rugby could not have been better at a sunny Police field. However the Reds adopted a very tactical approach to this important match and sensed that they had the edge up front with heavier and somewhat more experience pack of forwards. From the opening kick off, Teachers decided to play a tight forward dominated game in which they pounded the ball down the throats of the Renegades with text book pick and drives and classic rolling mauls. The style may not have been attractive but for rugby purists the efficiency and effectiveness of this approach could not be questioned. Lead by gnarly veterans Anthony "Church" Cupidore and Brian Desmond, Teachers forwards worked the ball about the fringes. Renegades, still missing several key players, fought valiantly up front with flankers Tom Kelly and Paul Dobinson manfully toiling in the loose. Once again both teams were left bewildered at referee Ben Jewitt's interpretation at the break down and the high penalty count indicated a need for clearer instructions from the referee. 'Gades sucked up the initial pressure but were guilty of squandering their limited possession with a litany of handling errors and poor passing. The Teachers back line smarting from their mauling in the previous encounter played with a far more physical approach and were able to shut down the dangerous half back combination of Gorgeous Paul Waldburger and Tom Healy. Just before the half Renegades finally put together some good multi-phase play which created space out wide. A lovely weighted ball from center Scott Slater put fullback Eoghan O'Dwyer away with acres of space. The diminutive full back sprinted in free to the corner but inexplicably ran out the back of the dead ball zone before touching down. Teachers went into the half with a fortuitous 0-0 tie in a very tense and hard fought game. The second half started in a similar vein to the first with Teachers sticking to their well though out game plan. Renegades were punished for indiscipline when a rare Teachers foray into their half resulted in a scrum. Some needless and ill advised back chat to the referee saw a penalty awarded. Teachers standoff Chris Naylor stroked the ball over to give his side a slim 3-0 lead. Renegades woke up and started to play an expansive game and soon had the upper hand with Teachers forwards visibly tiring after a long hard war in the trenches. Renegades burst through the centers on a couple of occasions but were pulled back for some dubious forward pass calls. Teachers desperately defended with the ubiquitous Mike Barkhuizen leading the way with some ferocious tackling. On the hour mark Waldburger even things up with a well struck penalty. Renegades continued to up the tempo and took advantage of a perceived knock-on to recycle the ball and fling it wide where substitute Conrad Hinchey was in support to score an unconverted try in the corner and an 8-3 lead. Teachers tried to fight back but in fairness never looked to score in game dominated by Renegades. The final whistle witnessed a jubilant Renegades team celebrating their fifth league title in as many years.

The second game saw a resurgent Mariners squad looking for their fifth win of the season against a dismal Police side who were losers of eight straight. Both sides were missing several first string players. Mariners were considerably buoyed by the return of veteran Lawrence "Tinman" Bird in the backs. Police could not field a proper front row and had to concede points for requesting uncontested scrums. This turn of events certainly nullified the overwhelming advantage the Greens may have had in the set pieces. In fairness it must be stated that all the clubs have made every effort all season long to field a competitive front row and all bar 2 games have seen contested scrums, which is a massive improvement on the 2 previous years. Be that as it may Mariners started off the stronger and dominated up front with their now trade mark physical play. A powerful opening drive by Richard Biram set up an attacking lineout 6 meters out. David Rourke majestically won the ensuing lineout and set up a tight driving maul which saw the improving play of Dustin Archibald being rewarded with an early unconverted try. From the kick off Police found some joy in turning the Mariners over and this gave them increased confidence. They worked themselves up close to the 22 and the pressure told as the Mariners were penalized for holding on. Mike Kane stepped up and knocked the penalty over to peg back the score to 5-3. Mariners replied with some aggressive running and soon had the Police on the ropes. Several well constructed phases of play down the sidelines by their rampant pack set up a solid platform to launch a set play. A beautifully executed dummy switch with Lachie Armour, drawing the defense allowed Mariners captain Rich Brown, running in at a sublime angle, to cut a swathe through the Blues backline and score a converted try for a 12-3 lead on the 20 minute mark. Mariners continued to dominate from the re-start and were looking to administer the coup de gras with Mariner prop Ed Barnes barreling down towards a sure try. However a massive hit by Barnes opposite number Nick West saw the ball juggled forward. Referee John Weale cleverly allowed for advantage and Police flanker Mike Arbuthnot (just back from running up India's coastline for charity) pounced on the loose ball. Arbuthnot used his pace on the outside and evaded several weak tackles before sprinting the length of the pitch for a stunning try which in truth saw a 14 point swing in the game and negated all of the first half Mariner's domination. Michael Kane converted for a flattering 12-10 half time score. From the restart Police strung some phases of play together. Burly prop West, playing in a blinder of a game, slickly off loaded to a supporting Jamie Webb. The Police captain, playing in the unaccustomed position of flanker, drove forward before popping a nice pass to Nick Superina who weaved his way through the tattered remnants of the Mariners defense to score. Kane stepped up and converted to give the Blues an improbable 17-12 lead against the run of play. Mariners continued to fight on and their fiery scrum half Mark Pomeroy's quick tap penalty found the Police defense in shambles. Pomeroy darted ahead drawing several players before finding the powerful Kris Furbert. Furbert crashed through a couple of would be tacklers to score near the corner. Brown missed the difficult conversion but the scores were level at 17 all with 15 minutes to play in a pulsating match. Play ebbed and flowed with both teams having opportunities to make significant in roads. Police center Richard Keagan made a break down the line and should have scored but misjudged the try line and was bundled out of the back of the end zone before he could touch down. In the closing seconds of the game both teams frantically threw the ball around searching for the winning score, with possession changing hands several times in a remarkable passage of play. In literally the last frenetic play of the game Police hooker Brian McNabb found himself out in the backs with the ball- he drove forward and put Kane into space. The Bermuda Irish winger showed a turn of pace to stretch Mariners before lofting a ball out to the hard charging Police full back Ralshon Douglas. Douglas showed considerable ball handling skills plucking the poor pass off his shoe laces before outdistancing the covering defense to score the winning try in the corner. Kane missed the conversion but Police came out 22-17 winners in a highly entertaining match. Police will be glad to end their soul destroying losing streak, whereas Mariners will rue their lost opportunities but take solace in that they are a team not only to be respected but feared entering into the Nichol Shield tournament.

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