Rugby 2007
Uplands College Rugby has entered a new phase. The past few years have been very successful and, in particular, the 1st XV who qualified for Die Beeld Quarter Finals for two consecutive years. We knew from the beginning of this season that there would be pressure on us. We are currently in a building phase which requires much patience, commitment and dedication.

Our first game of the season was a warm-up match against Komatipoort. This gave the coaching staff the perfect opportunity to iron out a few weaknesses and to look at young talent coming through the ranks. The final score was 32-17 in favour of Uplands. The second match was against our traditional rivals, Penryn College. Penryn was a much-improved side compared to last year and fully deserved the victory. The final score was 0-25.

Uplands hosted the Co-Ed Independent Schools Sports Festival from 3-7 April. There were approximately 550 pupils on campus and, in addition to that, their parents and staff. A festival of any description has the potential to be a wonderful experience: it has its very own particular attractions and opportunities. We played three matches beating Watershed (Zimbabwe) 19-5, Leeuwenhoff (Johannesburg) 19-10 and Thomas More College (KZN) 24-12.

The U15 Independent Schools Rugby Festival ran concurrently with the Co-Ed Festival. This was hosted by Helpmekaar Kollege in Johannesburg. The boys covered themselves in glory and enthralled spectators with their brand of rugby. The first match was against St Andrews (Bloemfontein), which we won convincingly 34-7. The second game was perceived to be our toughest, but playing with guts and determination, our boys won the match by 22-7 against all expectations. The third and final match against CBC Boksburg was a hard-fought encounter with our boys going down 0-3. According to Mr Carlisle and Mr Putter, the boys gained valuable experience and they anticipate a very successful season.

We started with our league commitments straight after the holidays. We beat Lowveld High School 24-12 and followed with a clinical performance against Hoërskool Barberton, beating them 19-17. The next game was a friendly fixture against St Stithians 2nd XV. This was a joint fixture between Penryn and ourselves. It was a hard-fought encounter, but we managed to pull it off due to a late drop goal by Duncan Tarrant-Phillips. The score was 6-3 in our favour. The next game was also a friendly against Hoërskool Lydenburg. Lydenburg normally plays in a league above us, but decided to join our ranks for this year. Unfortunately, we made too many mistakes and succumbed to the pressure by losing 12-20. The next fixture was against Sybrand van Niekerk. We managed to pull off a victory in a somewhat lack-lustre performance. The score line was 15-0 to us. The latest fixture was against St Peter’s College from Johannesburg. Two quick tries secured victory for us, finally beating them 22-13. On another front, our U15s are playing superb rugby and are dominating the local league.

Uplands hosted the annual derby against Penryn which coincided with Uplands Founders Day celebrations and the Uplands Festival. The final rugby match between the 1st teams of the two schools concluded the celebration. It was an exciting encounter, with both teams prepared to play expansive rugby. Penryn has shown this year that they have a formidable side. They narrowly lost to St Stithian’s 1st Team by 13-17, which is an indication of their strength. However, the Uplands boys played with great determination. The half-time score was 8-8. Penryn took the lead after a converted try early in the second half and, trailing 8-15, the Uplands boys were staring down the barrel. Uplands responded when captain, Ryan Thomson, scored a brilliant try next to the goal posts. He converted his own try and the scores were level again at 15-all. With ten minutes to go, Uplands applied increasing pressure and forced a kickable penalty. Thomson was cool under pressure and slotted the penalty from 20 metres. It was a titanic battle, but Uplands kept their composure in the final minutes. There was pandemonium and jubilation when the final whistle went and Uplands won 18-15.
The rest of the rugby results against Penryn were:

• U14A Uplands won 17-7
• U15A Uplands won 17-7
• 3rd team Uplands lost 3-33
• 2nd team Uplands lost 0-19
• 1st team Uplands won 18-15

The 1st Team improved dramatically as the season progressed, which is indicative of the hard work and commitment by the coaching staff and the players. They played 13 matches and won 11. The final league fixtures were against Hoërskool Bergvlam. The U15s put up another excellent display by winning 34-0, making them undefeated in their league and qualified to play the Mpumalanga semi-finals against Hoërskool Volksrust.

It was off to ‘Blue Bulls’ country the following Saturday to play a derby against Cornwall Hill. This was another highlight on our calendar for 2007 as this is the first time we have played a full derby against our friends from Pretoria. The rugby results were very encouraging. Our U14s finished their season on a high note by playing their best rugby of the season. They won 22-5, with Tyron Tilly the main destroyer. The U15s moved into top gear in the second half to win convincingly 26-0. The 2nd XV squandered many opportunities to score and lost 0-19. The 1st Team played a superb game where tight defence was the key against much bigger opponents. Captain Ryan Thomson played another outstanding game of rugby, leading from the front. He became only the second player in our history to have earned 50 caps for the 1st Team. Keith Trytsman scored one try and Kabelo Theledi made a welcome comeback after injury, scoring two tries – one of which was a brilliant individual effort. The 1st Team won 21-7. The U15s narrowly lost to Volksrust 7-8 in the Mpumalanga semi-finals, but they can be proud of their successes this season.

The final fixture of the season was against Bishop Vesey from the UK. The Uplands 1st Team played their best rugby of the season, beating their opponents 46-16. Ryan Thomson scored three tries and concluded his illustrious career at Uplands in fine form. A combined U15/U16 team played against Bishop Vesey’s 2nd Team and won the game 14-7 after a brilliant solo try by Nisa Mnisi.

Four of our First Team players have earned their provincial caps:

• Keith Trytsman has been selected for the Pumas U19B team
• Charles Siwele has been selected for the Pumas U18B XV
• Thabo Khoza and Ryan Thomson were selected for the Pumas U18A team.

At the 2007 Winter Sports Dinner, Ryan Thomson received Honours for Rugby while Keith Trytsman, Brendon van Niekerk and James Rosenfeldt received Colours. We are very excited about the prospects for next year and express the hope that it will be another memorable season.