Wrap of Round 1: Week 1

Morning sports fans! I can admit without fear of contradiction that I am pretty sure last nights opening round of the 2007 UCT RFC Internal League can be accountable for many a sore head wandering around campus this fine morning..!

Amongst the copious amount of alcoholic concussions frequenting the plaza is the odd bruised, battered and stiff feeling that every rugby player sports after the seasons first real contact session. Never fear ailing men, you did yourselves proud last night and girls love scars… Okay maybe a sub muscular soft tissue injury doesn’t get a girl flowing but the odd wince of pain never hurt.

For anyone who managed to make their way up to the Green Mile last night they got ring side seats to vintage Internal League rugby. The blustery south east confirmed its omnipresence and it felt like the Korean indoor track team was training around the park the chill was so nippy.

But neither the cold nor the breeze could dissuade some hard running rugby and abundant warmly clad first year girls coming to expect the new crop of rugby talent.

All the sides from Pools W, X and Y had a go last night with only the exception of Pool Z sitting out, although they chose to sit it out on the sideline with cooler box and Weber at close at hand.

In Pool W the Nadoes fought off a stern challenge from the Spanners and then ran away with it scoring 5 tries to win convincingly 33-0. In the other game the Wildboys who are the incumbent B league trophy holders emphatically beat a flailing Marquard side 34-5. The real difference in that game boiled down to team work and cohesion with Marquard playing a lot of the rugby albeit as individuals compared to the unity of the Wildboys.

In Pool X the losing finalist of 2006, the Barbarians, recorded a comfy 28-0 victory over College House. Don’t let the score lie to make you think the game wasn’t hard or was one-sided. College pushed Barbarians right to the death and kept them honest for 60 minutes. The next game saw the rivalry between two B League superpowers continue with the Panthers edging out the Shebeen Boys 15-7, just denying them the valuable bonus point.


In Pool X the exciting Purple Cobras trounced newcomers “Ikhaya Shake and Bake” (yes, that’s their full name) 65-0 in a high energy match. Hats off must go to the ISB Boys who took their initiation into the League with their heads held high. The final game was a spectator thrill with Ubumbo beating a tough Turtles side 17-3. Ubumbo scored 3 cracking tries but still manage to blow hot and cold although that could be down to early season jitters. The pack for Ubumbo was devastating in the tight loose and very efficient in open play, an aspect of their game which could be menacing for their future opponents.

Last nights results vindicated the somewhat controversial decision to mix up the leagues this year and move away from the traditional A and B League structure. The Nadoes, a bench mark of excellence of Internal League rugby, only put 5 tries past the Spanners a perennial social side from the B league that has never played a semifinal before. The Wildboys, winners of the B in 2007 and runners up in 2006, put 5 tries on Marquard who placed 6th in the A league last year. The Barbarians, 2007 losing finalist, beat College house by only 4 tries (burglering the last one at the death) and up until last year College had never won a B league game since Cecil Rhodes captained the Nadoes.

The IRB is faced with the problem that come World Cup time they have 3 nations that can compete for the Webb Ellis and maybe another 4 or 5 that can ensure the spectators get their ticket price worth. Argentina is one of these fringe 5 and don’t be surprised if they upset Ireland in the Pool Stages. The only way talented sides that are bubbling under the pace of top nations are going to get competitive is through exposure and playing beyond your watershed.

When an underdog warms up in silence on the Green Mile and then takes it to pedestaled top sides do they learn to up their game and learn how to win at that level.

Game of the Week: The Panthers v Shebeen Boys tussle. Having cast aside last years childish off field niggle in favour of going out their with rugby alone at the fore the game was an intense affair and great to watch.
Team of the Week: It goes to Ubumbo for pure passion. The play with an energy that excites the ground into delirium and never ease off the gas.
Try of the Week: Warren Kelly’s 60m effort showing that class doesn’t diminish with age.
- Bubbling under: Little Goldberg’s 50m break from a scrum on the halfway and of course “two tries with my first two touches” Jordan “Impact” Biderman-Pam.
Comment of the Week: It came from a member of Ikhaya’s impressive bench: “ya…they called me bullet at school cause of…I passed so quickly..!” Not the most eloquent of first language English speakers I have heard but certainly entertaining to watch guys come out and relive the glory days…

See you next week for more impressive rugby…