Bermuda Rugby League Weekend Report
Round 3 of the Bermuda rugby league took place at a wind-swept Malabar on Saturday, Oct 16th.
Ladies action got things under way, with Teachers and Police both looking to get their first win of the campaign. Teachers edged a tight first half with the only try coming from Katy Wright. Wright added another in the second half, as did Marie-Pierre Beaudoin to round out the scoring for Teachers. Police had tries of their own from Nastassia Moses and Mika Tomita but it wasn’t enough to prevent the Teachers Dragons from winning 3-2.
The second ladies game was a top of the table clash between unbeaten rivals Renegades and Mariners. It was reigning league champions Renegades who pushed ahead when Laura Haynes managed to break clear and score. Captain Nicky Jones then doubled the lead after running a superb line to get through a rare gap. Mariners tightened up their defense in the second half, but were unable to create any openings themselves, as the ‘Gades held on for a solid 2-0 victory.
Police were looking to inflict the first league defeat of the season on Teachers in the opening men’s match. It was Teachers who started off better, with the ever dependable Greg Fraser slotting an early penalty. Police struck back quickly though, with Adriaan Van Der Merwe picking from the base of a scrum to dart over for a try. David Pringle converted to extend a lead they wouldn’t relinquish. Pringle and Tommy Edwards kicked a penalty each, with Fraser getting one in response as Police led 13-6 at half-time.
Durnferd Davies scored off a wonderful 60 metre run as Police pushed on, but strong work from Teachers’ pack resulted in Anthony Cupidore burrowing over. Teachers pushed for another score but in trying to force the issue, a loose pass was intercepted by Darren Richardson who returned in from half way to score under the posts. Edwards converted and Police secured a valuable bonus point when fine interplay released speedster Ralshon Douglas to score in the corner. Dave Porter pulled a try back when he pounced on a loose ball but it couldn’t prevent the Police going top of the table with a very impressive 30-16 win.
Last up saw Mariners looking to get their first win of the campaign against Renegades. They started brighter and had a couple of chances to score early on, but errors meant that they didn’t capitalize. They finally went ahead through Lachlan Armour’s penalty after a hands in the ruck infringement was spotted. Gareth Williams powered over for the opening try after a quick tap penalty, with Armour brilliantly converting. They led 10-0 at the break.
Williams scored his second from the base of a dominant scrum to push the Greens further ahead and he then completed his hat-trick, again bursting from the base of a scrum to embark on a fantastic 60 metre dash to the line. Armour converted to leave it 22-0. Renegades showed great fight as they tried to get themselves off the mark, and pushed hard for the last 15 minutes, camped inside the Mariners ’22. They were unable to breach the whitewash as Mariners deservedly won.
This weekend’s games are again at Malabar on Saturday. Mariners and Teachers will play the first men’s match at 2 p.m. with Police against Renegades at 3.30 p.m. The same teams will play at 1 p.m. in the women’s games. All support is welcome.
The League standings after three matches are below:
