Police 8 Teachers 5 This top-of-the-table clash turned into a catalogue of ball-handling errors and never lived up to its potential.

Teachers didn't have the commitment to win and were missing a recognised fly-half, where Henry Adderley and Kevin Weskowski, both normally buried in the pack, shared the role.

Police, on the other hand, enjoyed territorial advantage throughout as a result of a better-organised set of forwards and clever use of the boot by fly-half Alan Oliver. However, they failed to take full advantage of the numerous Teachers' mistakes.

Police often used the four-man line-out with some success and did well to spoil the normally efficient Teachers line-out, where Tom Steinoff had one of his best games in a blue jersey.

Police's only try came from a run by Shane Richmond who cut through the Teachers defence like a knife through butter before handing off to Greg Lunn to score in the 28th minute.

Bobby Hurdle responded five minutes later with a great individual try, crashing over after a line-out close to the Police try line. In fact, Hurdle and prop Des Davies were about the only Teachers forwards who came out of this game with any credit.

Just before half-time, an ugly incident involving the boot should have seen Sean Field-Lament take an early shower, but strangely, referee Dennis Dwyer issued only a warning.

The interval scoreline of 8-5 to Police stayed unchanged through to the final whistle, thanks to good defending from both teams, in particular Teachers centre Alvin Harvey whose tackling and cover defence saved certain tries.

Ironically, it was also Harvey who could have won the game for Teachers in the second half when he fumbled a penalty near the Police line with at least three of his team-mates in scoring positions.

Oliver also could have sewn up the game for Police early on, but he missed three crucial penalty kicks at goal.

Renegades 26 Mariners 0 Renegades, even with a considerably weakened pack of forwards, were too strong for Mariners, who lacked the competitive edge they normally show.

Three of Renegades' four tries came from forward dominance and included a penalty try issued by referee Peter Borland when Mariners collapsed a scrum near their line just before half-time.

Full-back Andy Trinder got the 'Gades off the mark with a try after 20 minutes following a volleyball-style pass by captain Shane Gill.

The experience of Phil Heaney, now in his twilight years, showed as he demoralised Mariners with long, rolling kicks when Mariners gave up possession.

The 'Gades pack constantly pressured Mariners' defence with their rolling mauls that are now becoming a regular feature of their game, albeit rather boring to the average spectator.

Heaney's two conversions brought the half-time score to 19-0.

The second half saw the Mariners backs unable to score behind a beaten pack but the 'Gades took their foot off the pedal and scored only one more try in the dying minutes when Brad Adderley crashed over the try-line after Rod Stewart had taken good line-out ball. Heaney converted. Two Renegades players deserve special mention. Young centre Dominic Sommers time and again stopped the experienced, strong running Danny McGavern in his tracks and snuffed out many of Mariners' attacks.

Patrick Bryan, who scored a try after 25 minutes, is leaving the Island soon after giving 18 years of great service to Renegades both on and off the field and will be sorely missed.

The only blemish against his name came in Sunday's Second Division win over Police when he was sent off for foul play by referee Kim White.

In second team action, Renegades toppled Police 26-5 and Teachers kept a slim one-point lead at the top of the division after losing 12-0 to a fitter, more aggressive Mariners outfit.