Four matches have been scheduled as part of the Duckett Memorial tournament, which signals the start of the domestic rugby season at Police Field on Saturday.

Police women face their Teachers counterparts at 12.30pm, with Renegades and Mariners meeting in another women’s game an hour later. Walking rugby has been allocated time before the main fixture between the Police men's side and Teachers at 3pm.

The annual club day is held in memory of George Duckett, a former Commissioner of Police who was assassinated in 1972. A year later, the Bermuda Police rugby section established an annual memorial match in his honour.

Police Rugby Club chairman Adam Richards emphasised that the Duckett Memorial continues to hold special meaning for players and supporters alike.

“Saturday is a huge day for the Police Rugby Club,” Richards said.

“The Duckett Memorial event is always well supported and this year will provide an opportunity for the club to host the kick-off to the new season.

“The Duckett Memorial provides a fantastic opportunity for Bermuda’s rugby community to get together and celebrate our sport. We look forward to welcoming everyone again this year.

“Police Rugby Club extends an open invitation to serving officers, former colleagues, and rugby supporters across the island to attend and show their respect by supporting this longstanding sporting tradition.”

Last year, the Police teams endured mixed fortunes in the annual matches. The women, led by Ciara Izzie, triumphed 14-7 against the Rest, while the men fell 49-22 to the Bermuda Rugby Football Union President’s XV.

Hadleigh Tucker, the Teachers men’s captain, is looking forward to taking to the field on Saturday.

“We started our preparations for the season a bit later in and it’ll be an interesting start to the season with the new format,” Tucker said.

“Preparation for this match has not been at the top of our list of priorities as a club, which may sound strange, but we are trying to focus on the longevity of the club and rugby as a whole in Bermuda.

“So in that respect we have been trying to make training fun, engaging and consistent.

“Morale is pretty high as it normally is with Teachers Rugby and we have some potential debuts for the upcoming game.

“However, as usual, we have a lot of youth in the team so the results of this game will help to see where we will focus our development throughout the season.”

Teachers women's captain Heidi Groves is eager to see some of the team’s fresh faces to feature on Saturday.

“We had our field session with the full squad on Wednesday night and we’re looking forward to the start of the season.

“The morale in camp will build up as the games go on. We have a couple of new players in our team, that is why it was crucial to have a session before their debut.”