Police Rugby Club show signs of life in league
Police Rugby Club have had a bright start this season after failing to win any match in the Bermuda Rugby Football Union men’s league last term.
Peter Lewington’s side have won two of their four matches they have played so far to complete a turnaround from last season, which saw them finish winless despite dominating pre-season tournaments.
The start was not auspicious this time around as Police fell to defeat at the hands of Teachers and Renegades in their opening two matches at Southampton Oval, but their improvement came with a switch to Flora Duffy Stadium two weeks ago.
It was there that Police recorded a 25-17 victory over Teachers, who suffered their first league loss in two years, and a 38-17 triumph over Renegades last Saturday, with the team rejuvenated by the arrival of lock Samir Tavares and the return of forward Hussani Samuels from a lengthy injury.
“Things are looking good for us and we’ve got a good social side and a very good team,’’ Lewington said.
“We have big backing from ex-players as well and we have some good numbers at training, which is very encouraging for the new year.
“This season is for us to build towards next season. Our plan is to build the side, get our camaraderie going, and build the team spirit to what it was before Covid-19.
“We struggled for numbers last season and this year we’re starting to get players coming back and we’re recruiting again.”
The club train at Police Field on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 6.30pm with Lewington to point out that anyone is welcome to join.
“We need more players and we just got a couple of guys down two weeks ago,” Lewington said.
“We have Samir and he is our newest recruit and our star player. He’s played rugby before in the school system, then he had a little drift and didn't have a club to go to, so he’s back enjoying the spirit and the training.
“It’s encouraging for us that way and we’re still recruiting players throughout the season. We’ll try to keep training going during the Christmas period and if we can keep the numbers up and our injuries down, we’ve proven that we can use our training to keep phases of rugby.
“We've shown now that we can play 15-man rugby, which is exciting for the guys and it’s the way to go.”
Front row Darren Richardson, 40, the Police captain, attributed the team’s success to being well organised.
“We’re turning it around this season,’’ he said. “We won every single knockout trophy last season, and in the league we suffered.
“We've got Peter joining us coaching and we've got Samir coming through as well as a few other youngsters, and we seem to be organised.
“Bermuda rugby is struggling right now so everyone is locking it in to get a game off. It was a hands-on-deck approach.
“We had Teachers players playing for us and so did Renegades, so they really need to be credited for doing their best to keep rugby going on the island.
“We’re just looking forward to the new year. I think the league’s going to be close this year. Teachers have youth and we have size and experience. They have youth and speed so it’s going to come down to who gets it over the line at the end.
“I can’t say right now that we’re in a stronger position than them because we have two losses and they have one.
“Teachers are in the driving seat as they went undefeated last season, so it is up to us to take it from them.”
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