Defending champions Teachers Rugby Club have made sure they go into the Christmas break in high spirits.

Teachers recovered from a 25-17 loss to Police, their first defeat in two years, to beat Renegades 66-10 in an ill-tempered encounter at the Flora Duffy Stadium on Saturday.

Referee Keith Hodgkins was kept busy on the afternoon, sending three players to the sin-bin, with Jamie Baum, the Renegades captain, sent off after receiving his second yellow card. Cameron Caines and Aldo Campbell were each shown yellow cards on the Teachers side.

Chris Naylor, the Teachers coach, was relieved to get back to winning ways.

“It’s nice to bounce back after last week’s defeat to Police, which was the first defeat we've had for a while,’’ Naylor said.

“It was quite satisfying and we started very well. The game was quite loose but that suits our speed.

“Indiscipline cost us a little bit in the second half, with a couple of cards. A couple of their players got under our skins, and we've got to be better than that. Other than that, a good result and I’m happy with the first part of the season.

“It’s nice to see Renegades put together a decent team and it was a good performance from them, so respect to them.

“The score flattered us a little bit because they were in the game for parts it, but we had a fast start. We got off to a good start and they never recovered from that.”

Naylor paid tribute to prop Charlie Searle, who has been on the island for six months and played his last match for the defending champions before returning to Britain.

As a way of honouring Searle, who featured in six matches for Teachers, he was allowed to take the final kick of the game and he did not disappoint with a successful conversion.

“Special mention must go to Charlie Searle, who has been with us and is leaving the island to go back to the UK,” Naylor said.

“It was a nice way for him to finish with the last points of the game, a conversion. He’s been a nice addition to the team. He’s worked hard, he’s been an asset and he will be missed for sure.”

Searle, 31, enjoyed his time with Teachers as it afforded him an opportunity to play the sport again after a decade’s hiatus.

“I'm very sad to be leaving,’’ he said. “It’s been a great six months with the boys and I really enjoyed my time here. The camaraderie of playing in a rugby team is top notch, so it’s been good fun, playing and training.

“I had not played rugby in 13 years, so it was nice to come here and play again. I'm a lawyer, so I am going back to London to carry on with my law.

“I saw this as an opportunity to come out for six months and gain some experience. I've really enjoyed it and I’ll see if I can come back again.

“I always see these videos where the prop forward takes a conversion and if I had missed that, I would have been embarrassed.”

The league is shaping up to be a fight between Police and Teachers with Naylor confident his side will put up a good fight to retain their crown.

“Obviously Police put in that defeat on us last week,” Naylor said. “That was a bit of a wake-up call for us and they’re pretty strong as they've got a couple of new additions.

“It’s good that these boys have joined them and it’s good to play against good rugby players. We appreciate that, they’re competition, but the league is not done and dusted.

“We still have the second half of the league to go, and we respect both Renegades and Police.”