Uplands participated in a ‘tri-schools’ winter sports derby versus Hoërskool Nelspruit and Hoërskool Pionier from Vryheid. Nelspruit extended an invitation to us at the end of last year to be part of the proceedings and we gladly accepted their invitation.

All the Hockey matches were played at Uplands on Friday afternoon. Most of our Hockey teams found the going very tough against Nelspruit, but it was ideal preparation for the upcoming season. The Boys’ 1st Hockey team played scintillating hockey and their match ended in a 1-1 draw. Our U14A boys’ played superbly, beating Nelspruit 3-0. Although our U16A’s lost 2-3, the match produced hockey of the highest quality.

The Netball teams played a double round on Saturday and won 50% of their matches. It was an incredible experience for our Netball girls and they can look forward to a rewarding and successful season.

The Rugby boys lost all their matches. It sounds like a disaster, but on the contrary, it was an opportunity to play against one of the top rugby schools in the country. The matches were all closely contested affairs. It was something most of our boys have never experienced before – to play against ‘mountain men’. The U14 team lost 12-17 against their U14B’s. The U15’s lost their match in the dying seconds. The 1st team played against ‘The Mambas’ – their 2nd XV. It was an entertaining game and we were 14-15 down with 10 minutes to go. The ‘Mamba’ reserves were bigger and meaner than the starting line-up. We succumbed to pressure and conceded two quick tries in the final minutes. The final score was 14-29.