Eighteen months since they lifted the John I Dent Cup, eighteen months since they won a first grade game, the Royals have reigned again.

Adam Butt's first game in charge was marked with a 25-15 win over the Queanbeyan Whites in their season opener at Campese Field on Saturday.

Again it was the old heads pulling the strings. Pedro Rolando took the reins at flyhalf, and Ben Johnston came out of retirement - and a cameo in third grade - to help close out the game after a stint in COVID-19 isolation.

"I think they're pretty keen to sing the song. It's really great to start the year with a win, and although both teams will be disappointed in a few aspects, we'll take it," Butt said.

MORE RUGBY UNION

"Defensively in the second half, we were much better than we were in the first half and we were able to get a bit of a physical presence in the tackle zone. Heart, that goes a long way.

"It is special and I'm really proud to coach the club, so I'm happy with that."

Royals endured a winless season last year but dominated a lopsided penalty count against a Queanbeyan outfit who were left to rue 30 minutes of classy football and, in the words of coach Sam French, 50 minutes of "slop".

"To be honest, it's just an 80-minute performance lacking again. We've gone back two steps from all the steps we made last year," French said.

"You can't go to sleep against Royals. I've been saying it to these blokes all pre-season, 2021 means nothing, Royals are one of the best, strongest teams in the comp. They've come off a hard year but they are quality and we knew they would be good.

"You can't perform like we did for 30 minutes of quality and 50 minutes of slop, so I'm not surprised that was the outcome.

"To be honest, some of our senior players didn't stand up. In key moments, they went missing, they decided to argue with the referee or have a bit of a sleep.

"It's not the end of the world for us, we've only had two trials, that's a big improvement from those trials, and if we can build again next week against Penrith we'll be alright."

Penrith tasted defeat in their first John I Dent Cup appearance, falling to Wests 34-22 as they kickstart a new era for rugby in Sydney's west following a demoralising Shute Shield exit.

The Tuggeranong Vikings outclassed the Gungahlin Eagles 43-12 to start their season in winning fashion at Viking Park, soon after their women's side had put on a 78-point clinic in the Premier XVs.

AT A GLANCE

John I Dent Cup round one: CANBERRA ROYALS 25 (Bryce Keane, Lincoln Smith, Charlie Cartwright tries; Pedro Rolando 2 conversions; Rolando 2 penalties) bt QUEANBEYAN WHITES 15 (Jackson Stuart, Oliver Efkarpidis, Michael Rademaker tries) at Campese Field.

TUGGERANONG VIKINGS 43 (Remsy Lemisio 2, Lennix Tovo 2, James Douglas, Luke Gersekowski, Baden Godfrey tries; Jack Evenden 2, Tovo 2 conversions) bt GUNGAHLIN EAGLES 12 (Tauati Chan Tung, Isaac Crowe tries; Syria Schmidt conversion) at Viking Park.

WESTS LIONS 34 (Timoci Naivaluwaqa 2, Ryan Kiely, Lachie Albert tries; Declan Meredith 4 conversions; Meredith 2 penalties) bt PENRITH EMUS 22 (Jerry Navia, Eddia Matautia, Maka Fainga'a tries; Kyle Brown 2 conversions; Brown penalty) at Nepean Rugby Park.

Premier XVs round one: WESTS LIONESSES 15 (Jane Morrison 2, Chioma Enyi tries) bt PENRITH EMUS 10 (Moana Finau Alatini, penalty tries) at Nepean Rugby Park.

TUGGERANONG VIQUEENS 78 (Tabua Tuinakauvadra 3, Pearl Rakete 2, Antoinette Eli 2, Livinia Samoa, Shellie Milward, Lily Hawthorn, Lauren Freedman, Milika Tuinakauvadra, Sharon Waihape, name withheld tries; Amelia Kiriu 4 conversions) bt GUNGAHLIN EAGLES 12 (Nikayla Sines, Kolora Lotawa tries; Alex McKeough conversion) at Viking Park.

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