in the second half yesterday, and in the process erased the Police 26-10 in a textbook lesson of matching perfect game plan to pin-point execution in the first game of the Nicholl Shield tournament.

This one should have had Renegades captain Danny Forsythe standing on the field in professorial robes -- borrowed from Teachers, of course -- quoting to his students from a hand-held open textbook. He took his team to school, and the Police were turned into dust.

The rain, in the meantime, turned the field into a muddy mess as Teachers splashed all over Mariners 19-3 in the second match of the day. Teachers will now face Renegades for the Nicholl Shield next Sunday.

The ecstacy of Renegades' victory was nearly stifled by the frenetic Police, who played well enough in the first half to steal their first victory of the year against the Amstel League champions. Alan Oliver and Mark Adams had staked their team to a 10-0 lead until late in the first half and for a while, the slightest bit of offence seemed the overwhelming margin of victory.

But from then on the game was a collage of hits and misses for the Police.

Renegades finally caught on to Police's offensive game plan, where the key players were Oliver and Gareth Davies. Renegades took a me-and-my-shadow game plan and dispatched Police, who were soon playing as if the field was loaded with land mines.

With a double-digit lead, Police -- tired and flustered -- were done in by a string of penalties. Renegades managed to score six points in the first half to close the gap to four points, and the crowd was suddenly tuned into the always intriguing sub-plot of penalties getting the better of a team.

Police captain John (Bomber) Harris turned the pitch into his own Field of Screams, exhorting his team-mates to stop making foolish penalties and he got into several jawing contests with referee Kieron Peacock.

Two more penalties allowed Renegades to eventually snatch the lead away from Police, with the score now 12-10, by the midway point of the second half.

Renegades now looked like a team on a mission, shredding their blue nemesis, and added up points with ease. Mike Gorrie's try and Phil Heaney's two-point conversion put them in front 19-10. Richard Dunn, subbing for Andy Cook after injuring his right ankle, scored in the last moments of the game when he wheeled in from the left side and dived into the doorstep to score.

Heaney booted 16 points in the game, four coming off penalty kicks. "It was typical of the way Police have played all year,'' said a subdued Harris, whose creative line-up signals like, "Nicholas Nickelby, 99, Mickey Mouse'' and "Vanilla Ice, Rap, one, four, two,'' were far more creative than Police's game plan. "We tended to relax and the penalties really killed us.'' Rain had a dampening effect on the second game with Teachers and Mariners clunking along with top gunners like Scott Correia, Andre Simons, Alvin Harvey, for Teachers, and Gavin Cocoran and John O'Kelly-Lynch, for Mariners, turned into harmless water pistols.

But as Teachers got used to the conditions, they went about hermetically sealing the goal-line from the Mariners and ran up the score with ease.

Teachers' Patrick Cooper, an architect who is back with the team after attending Queen's University in Canada, scored the first try, followed by tries from Gary Walsh and Gerry Paddock. Simons was two-for-three in two-point conversions in a driving rainstorm. But Harvey was a stand-out, whose game seemed to come alive in the wet conditions. Even though he did not score, Harvey was the player behind every scoring play and almost scored twice himself.

Harvey, whose running was as smooth as fresh pudding, galloped down the field and set up Paddock's try in the second half. Cocoran scored the only points for Mariners.

Teachers defeated Police 8-5 and Mariners topped Renegades 15-3, in Saturday's Rothmans Shield compettition. Teachers will face Mariners for the Shield next Sunday.

The BRFU held their annual Rugby Skills Olympics prior to yesterday's games.

Richard Raistrick was pleased with the turn-out of 38 boys. Chris Lima won the 10-and-under category while Ronan Kaine captured the 13-and-under. David McHugh was overall best in the 16-and-under competition.

MARK PERRY -- Second straight victory over Kavin Smith.