Photos: George Duckett Memorial Rugby Game

The George Duckett Memorial Rugby Tournament was recently held, with Police Commissioner Steve Corbishley capping the day off with the presentation of the event’s trophies.

A spokesperson said, “The opening match of the day saw The BPRFC Women’s 2nd Team victorious over a strong Rest team. Faded Blue Kerry Heigham scored the first try of the day when the ball was spread wide through quick hands. April Jackson quickly came back to score for The Rest by sidestepping the blue defense. From there the floodgates opened with an extravaganza of tries for the Police.

“Erica McArthur and rookie Clodagh Barry both scored two tries each. Clever play saw Jessica Wagner break though to score beneath the posts, making for an easy conversion off the boot of Erica McArthur. The final points of the day came from broken play with speedster Kierra Smith storming down the length of the pitch to score. Final score was 39 – 5 to Police.

“Police tries were by Erica McArthur [2], Clodagh Barry [2], Kerry Heigham, Jessica Wagner, and Kierra Smith, with conversions by Erica McArthur [2]. The Rest tries were by April Jackson.

“The BPRFC Second XV took on the Bermuda U19 National team. The Police side was bolstered by the appearance of several veterans and saw no less than three father son combinations: Jonathon Cassidy and Keith Cassidy, Andy Pell and Dan Pell, Sean Field-Lament and Jake Field.

“The Police team surprised the partisan crowd by eking out an entertaining 15-12 victory with Old boys Gareth Davis, Sean Field and Peter Lewington scoring unconverted tried. The Bermuda U-19s responded with tries from Ja’kee Simons, Hussani Samuels and a Conversation by George Peets.

“It was a closely contested battle between BPRFC Women’s 1st Team and The REST in wet and muddy conditions. Police captain Meagan Jackson opened the scoring in the second minute with a dive over the try line from quick attacking play in the opposition 22. The Rest came back to even the score when Laura Mulligan took a quick penalty to easily dot the ball over the line.

“The second half saw The Rest take the lead 10 – 5 with Nya Heyliger breaking through defense on the wing. Police came back to take the lead 12 – 10 with Meagan Jackson diving over the line to score her second try of the day and a conversion off the boot of Fiona Donaldson. Their hopes of winning were dashed when Jessica Cassidy scored in the dying minutes to make The Rest victorious with a final score of 15 – 12.

“Police tries were from Meagan Jackson [2], with conversions from Fiona Donaldson x 1. The Rest tries were by Laura Mulligan, Nya Heyliger, and Jessica Cassidy.

“In muddy conditions the Police first team took on a very strong National Select side. Police started strong and forced the National Select into conceding penalties deep in their own territory, with the Police opting to kick for points and keep the score board ticking over, building up a 12-0 lead courtesy of Jayde Albertze’s boot. The forwards matched up well against the sizable opposition, proving a solid platform for the backs.

“Despite the conditions there was fluidity to the backline, expertly marshaled by Stephan Smit and Mike Halbert. The Police made good yards with ball in hand with only some last ditch National defensive effort preventing the men in blue from crossing the whitewash.

“As expected the National team eventually rallied through their sizable pack, putting pressure deep in Police territory. As the pressure mounted, the Police hooker Ben Green was sent to the sin bin, with the National team making the extra man count scoring on the stroke of half time to keep them within striking distance.

“The second half continued where the first left off with increasing pressure coming from the National side, but the Police defense held firm. Eventually National scored another try following a Police mistake at the lineout, putting the score at 15-12 to Police. As the clock ticked down the National team ramped up the pressure but couldn’t find a way to puncture the Police defense, who ultimately held on for a memorable victory.

“Jayde Albertze’s stellar performance earned him the Peter Stubbs MVP trophy. COP Steve Corbishley capped the day of by presenting all of trophies.”

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