their two-game tour of the Bahamas at the weekend, but they returned on Monday with a win and a loss to their credit.

Renegades defeated Baillou RFC 17-7 on Sunday, with ten points from Phil Heaney, who found his form after some missed penalties in the first game on Friday.

Scrum half Dave Taylor also scored a try.

In the first game, Renegades lost 15-3 to the Buccaneer RFC.

New skipper Gordon Benson, who took over the captaincy from Patrick Jones after last season, was reflective about Renegades performance in the Bahamas.

After an evenly-contested first half, Renegades lost their stride in the second half missing several penalties.

"We allowed them to run at us,'' Benson continued. "We did not make our tackles.'' Benson said 14 of the 16 players that toured the Bahamas last week were forwards, with only two genuine backs.

In spite of this handicap, Benson said his team gave a solid performance which will only improve as the season progresses.

It was also the first game they have played under the new international rule changes which are aimed at encouraging a quicker, more attacking style of play.

"We found that the new rule changes did not cause us too much problems, because the referee was able to help us along whenever there were difficulties.

"Our opposition was of a very high calibre with strong backs especially in the centre.

"The tour allowed us to try out some of our new players. I was impressed with new players Lee Brown, Pat Marshall and Julian Adams. They seem keen and we will be looking forward to having them in the side this season.'' Benson, Brown and Renegades hooker Andy Baldwin were all injured in the Bahamas. Baldwin clashed heads with an opposition player in the first game and received a cut which required several stitches to close.

Meanwhile, Benson and Brown injured their knees and will be sidelined for a few weeks.

The rugby season kicks off tomorrow at 5.30 p.m. when Old Bermuda RFC take on Le Vieux Football Club from Westchester County, New York at National Sports Club.

The game will serve as a tune-up for Bermuda since many of the players will play in the upcoming World Rugby Classic.

Le Vieux will also play in the Sandys Boat Club round robin tournament on Sunday, to be held at Malabar in the west end.

Squad: Keiron Peacock (captain), Colin Newall, Peter Simons, Danny Forsythe, Alan Gorbutt, Denton Hurdle, Nicholas Jones, Pat McHugh, Richard Raistrick, Terry Walsh, Kim White, Gareth Davies, Dave Taylor, Mark Carter, Phil Heaney, Gary Kelson, Declan O'Loughlin, Scott Correia, Andrew Correia, Tom Dixon.

Teachers are set to defend their title in the Sandys Boat Club tournament on Sunday. Each game will consist of 12-minute halves with two points being awarded for a win, one point for a draw and no points for the losing side.

Draw: 12.30 p.m. Teachers v Police; 1 p.m. Mariners v Le Vieux; 1.30 p.m.

Teachers v Renegades; 2 p.m. Police v Mariners; 2.30 p.m. Police v Le Vieux; 3 p.m. Mariners v Renegades; 3.30 p.m. Teachers v Mariners; 4 p.m. Teachers v Le Vieux; 4.30 p.m. Le Vieux v Renegades; 5 p.m. Police v Renegades.

READY TO GO -- Scott Correia will be suiting up for Old Bermuda in tomorrow night's clash against Le Vieux, a team from New York. The game, at National Sports Club, marks the start of the rugby campaign.