Rugby 2010
Rugby helps you to form and nurture relationships; it breaks down barriers. So the question is “Why is rugby different from any other sport?” The difference, I believe, is that rugby is a physical game. It is a collision of bodies and in this process you learn a lot about yourself; you learn to stand up for yourself and to stand up for others – your team mates.

Our fundamental philosophy is to provide a holistic education at Uplands College. Sport - and especially rugby - is a great unifier and we encourage pupils to participate in team sport. The amazing thing about team sport is that you can play in a match against your best friend and with a total stranger, but for 60-70 minutes the total stranger is your best mate whereas your friend becomes the adversary. Afterwards, however, you are all best mates!

The season started off in Malelane where our 1st Team played against a Development XV at the Malelane Rugby Festival. We annihilated Lowveld High by 60 points to 7in a pre-season warm-up match. St Dunstan’s was hit by a train called the rural boys from Mpumalanga on their home turf with a resounding victory of 66-0 before we took the picturesque route down to Bloemfontein to play in the St. Andrew’s Festival. Victories over Hoërskool Sentraal and Woodridge made the trip down to the Free State worth our while. Unfortunately we lost our first match of the season to St Andrew’s. The St Andrew’s Festival was the right medicine to prepare for our first Penryn Derby. At the inauguration of their new rugby fields we won convincingly 24-7, with captain Neil Brokensha scoring two tries.

Our pursuit of winning the league for the second consecutive year was thwarted. A narrow, last-minute defeat to Barberton and a last-minute draw against Bergvlam derailed our efforts. Magnificent victories over Lydenburg, Lowveld High, Penryn College and Sybrand van Niekerk did, however, ensure that we came second in our league and therefore, once again, qualified for the Mpumalanga semi-finals. During the season we also outplayed St Peter’s and Cornwall Hill from Gauteng.

We concluded the season by playing in the ISRF hosted superbly by Falcon College during the June holidays. The trip to Zimbabwe was memorable and one that the players will treasure for a long time. We took a young and inexperienced side to Zimbabwe and we played against tough opposition. We drew our first game against CBC Bulawayo 19-19; lost 10-34 against St John’s Harare and lost 10-30 against St. John’s Johannesburg on the final day.

Meshack Khumalo was selected to play for the Pumas Craven Week side. Neil Brokensha was selected for the Pumas U19A side who were undefeated in their four matches of the season which included victories over the Blue Bulls and the Free State Cheetahs.

The U14A Team played in the annual Parktown Boys’ Rugby Festival and our U15As played in the ISRF hosted by Penryn. Our 2nd Team has had a superb year. They were undefeated the whole season but, unfortunately, lost in the Mpumalanga final to Lydenburg.