WITH just two weeks until the season opener at Malabar, Bermuda's rugby clubs are hard at work perfecting prop play in order not to fall foul of stringent new rules penalising a failure to contest scrums.

Weekly sessions have brought together forwards from all four clubs to ensure each can get a front row out and avoid an automatic two-point deduction.

Renegades president Phil Heaney said: "It's a specialised position ? you cannot just go out there and play ? otherwise you can get serious injuries.

"That's when you get terrible broken necks and back injuries ? stuff can happen when the scrum collapses."

The sessions have been running for several weeks and will continue at the Police Club on Tuesday nights where scrum machines are available.

"Clubs have taken the responsibility to get a front row out," said Heaney.

Meanwhile his club, which won every league game last year, is in good shape again having attracted several new players although Aussie centre Mick Williams has left while stalwart Dave Worsfold is likely to retire from first-team action.

Renegades have been training seriously since July and have just come back from a Brazilian tour where they beat Rio de Janeiro Rugby Club 52-15 before succumbing to Niteroi ? a suburb of Rio ? which fielded several Brazilian nationals who made mincemeat of the visitors who were flagging from tour exertions.

"It was close for the first half hour but their pack was too quick for us. They had some fast guys who we were pretty good runners but they couldn't kick to save their lives which is why they are not playing football!

"This was Brazil ? these are the guys who cannot play football," said Heaney who refereed the games and recalled one embarrassingly bad attempt at a conversion from the hosts.

The league opens with the Sandys Boat Club round robin tournament likely to be on October 8 at Malabar. However the BRFU can't confirm until the Bermuda Football Association publish their much-delayed fixture list.

The round robin tournament will provide a good indication of the strengths and weaknesses of the respective sides and is traditionally the first bit of silverware for the season. Each half is only 15 minutes long.

Efforts are being made to keep 15 a-side seconds rugby on a Friday night after it died off somewhat in the second half of last season.

Meanwhile the ladies league, which started just a year ago, is going from strength to strength.

Spokeswoman Linda Scully said: "There are a lot of new players and this year we are playing Flag Rugby with Kiwi Rules which is a change from last year."

New Bermuda Rugby League spokesman Graham Thomas said under the new rules the touch is substituted by the removal of a tag which is a piece of material hanging on each hip.

If the scrum half is touched (tagged) it's a turn over, if the ball goes to ground, knocked on, goes out of play etc.

"Last year if the scrum half was touched, play continued as normal via the ball through the legs. This game is a lot faster and simulates contact better as the removal of a tag takes a defender out of play until the tag is returned to the attacking player. As part of the rules ? the defender must hold their position to hand back the tag," he said.

Scully added: "We are also pushing to set up the ladies seven's full contact team with approximately 13 girls interested so far and Alvin Harvey will be our coach."

She said Robin Hood has shown support for the ladies by sponsoring a Ladies Robin Hood Cup which is to be played next February and March.

"We had discussed getting more involved with youth rugby and trying to encourage a 14-17 age group.

"The ladies are in discussion about trying to get into some of the schools and get involved with the younger girls and tag rugby and a few of the girls are keen to get involved.

"We're also going to get the ladies trained up to referee the ladies games and the current men's refs are going to help with that."