Both Police men's teams exited stage left from the domestic Grand Championships last Saturday, leaving the Sirens women's team as the club's sole representative in the semi-finals next week. And unless he has gender realignment surgery in the next few days, that also means the curtain has finally fallen on the playing career of legendary club stalwart Barry "BJ" Smith, at least as a serving police officer, as he is set to hang up his warrant card before the start of next season.

BJ has had a long association with the club, spending his early playing career hanging about the wing before suffering a horrific leg break which led him to reinvent himself as a gritty second rower and possibly the finest line out jumper of the modern era.
Off the pitch he served as Chairman of the club and also captained the Old Bill successfully for a number of years, until forced to resign over the "non-stripping stripper" scandal at the the Manila 10s in the late 90s.

With Duncan McCosh, Matt Lindsay and Dave Donnelly all joining BJ in retirement during the off season, it looks like Pete "Whitty" Whitton could be the last serving expat officer, and last senior officer, to pull on his boots for the club...unless Daffyd Angus makes an unexpected come back and gets an immediate field promotion.

Even if Whitty turns out next season BJ will be marked down in the club annals as the last in a long and distinguished line of gingers to turn out for the club; indeed club historian and author of the recent best-selling "Burns Supper Programme", Jim Walker, believes that there has always been a token copper-topped copper in the Police side, right from the earliest days of the club.
"One of the founders of the Police Rugby Club was Inspector Ginger Hebblethwaite, a name many will remember as the close companion of Wing Commander James "Biggles" Bigglesworth. After leaving Biggles and the RAF, Ginger signed up with the Hong Kong Police and was a talented full back who turned out in the first few seasons for the fledgling club - this is referred to in the book "Biggles Loses His Lover"."

However the failure of the Police men's sides to pick up any silverware this season and the impending loss of the club's last ginger-nut has not dampened the spirits of Director of Elite Performance Rugby Colonel Donald H. Bunkernutt it seems; "When I took up this position I said it would get worse before it got better, and I've delivered on that promise. Yes, it's sad to see BJ go - we've all loved him like a red-haired step son, but this is not the end, it's not even the beginning of the end...I've bought Whitty some hair dye."

This Saturday’s Games;
Police Sirens v Taipo Dragons, Shek Kip Mei, 6pm
Disciplined Services v CWB, Tai Hang Tung, 4.30pm
DS Development v HK Scottish, Tai Hang Tung, 3.00pm

Inter-Disciplined Services Touch Tournament is on 18th March at DSSRC.
Oh yes, and Dave Donnelly is buying beers at White Stag tomorrow night…