Rest of Bermuda 19 Police enjoyed their first victory for three years in the annual fixture against the Rest of Bermuda to win the George Duckett Memorial Shield.

A large crowd were treated to an exciting display of open rugby at the Police Field on Saturday.

The Blues were fastest out of the blocks and The Rest were nursing deep wounds inside the first 15 minutes.

After only four minutes the dominant Police pack produced a second phase ball just outside Bermuda's 22-metre line, and after an intelligent chip from Alan Oliver left the Bermuda defence flat-footed, the alert Shane Richmond snatched the loose ball and ran over the line to give Police a 5-0 lead.

Within a few minutes Police scored the try of the match when Warren Bundy's strength held off a challenge and he flicked the ball to Russell Matthews who sprinted down the right wing before feeding Oliver, who in turn found the versatile Greg Lunn in support to present Sean Field-Lament the ball to score under the posts. Oliver converted and Police were 12-0 ahead.

The Rest, despite their experience and quality, found the going difficult and certainly were not helping themselves by dropping passes, and their pack had problems in retaining possession when driving forward.

Another dropped pass after 15 minutes was pounced on by the tenacious Gareth Davies who eluded two tackles before scoring the third try of the game and increasing the lead to 17-0.

The remainder of the first half saw both sides squander good scoring opportunities, and just before the break Alan Gorbutt was substituted in what may have been his final Duckett appearance after playing in the previous 15.

The second half saw The Rest more organised and meaningful, fuelled by the introduction of their coach Pete Shillingford into the back row.

Inside the first 10 minutes of the second half Bermuda were awarded a series of penalties deep in Police territory, which finally led to Danny McGavern scoring a try under the posts, and the lead was down to 10 points following a Phil Heaney conversion.

The tempo of the game increased and Police piled on the pressure. But The Rest hit them with a stunning breakaway try after Rob Morgan sprinted the length of the field following a clever interception from an Oliver pass and a fumbled move. Heaney converted and the score was 17-14.

Text book tackling from all the Police backs led by Russell Matthews thwarted The Rest from taking the lead, and following a five-metre scrum, Oliver neatly fed Shane Richmond who made no mistake and scored his second try. Oliver converted to restore the 10-point lead.

The Rest immediately came back and after sucking in several Police players whilst driving forward down the right wing, Heaney orchestrated a move which saw The Rest reduce the difference to five points with a try in the left corner.

The final 10 minutes saw The Rest attempt to steal the match, however with the inspriation drawn from vice captain Dave Bird urging his team along and the sound of Ian Jamiesons's bagpipes, the Blues hung on to record a memorable 24-19 victory.

DIVING TACKLE -- The George Duckett Memorial match was marked by great commitment on both sides. Here a Police player tries to arrest the progress of an opponent from The Rest.