Even before our squad selection, we knew that we would be disadvantaged due to the clash between the St Alban’s Hockey festival and the St Andrew’s Rugby festival in Grahamstown, to which many in our squad had already committed. However, this did not stop our sheer guts and determination to make an impact on the tournament.

The schedule of the festival saw us play a very strong Parktown Boys’ side on Saturday morning and later that afternoon against Krugersdorp. Our team of U14, U15 and U16 boys, who had never played as a team before, struggled. On the second day, however, the team rallied, putting two past St David’s Inanda and one past Jeppe Boys, which put us in the lead. We held our own until half-time in both games, but unfortunately a lack of composure at the back and the inability to be clinical at the front saw the games swooped away from us.

Our final game on the Monday was against the hosts, St Alban’s College. We played some very nice hockey, forcing a narrow loss which could have gone either way. The improvement from the first to the last game was exponential and it was a fantastic experience for all, especially for those U14 boys who will be going again next year. The boys upheld the Uplands reputation with pride by behaving in a well mannered way on and off the pitch.