Sporting giants show how it’s done in derby
The Penryn/Uplands derby has developed a reputation as being one of the most spectacular festivals and once again it was Uplands College who showcased the cream of the school's sport crop on Saturday.
Hockey
The Uplands boys first-team hockey continued their winning streak, with a 2-1 win against their rivals. The girls also showed some exceptional talent and were victorious with 2-1.
Rugby
Tackles were teeth-rattling, rucks and mauls were fiercely contested, scrums were a battleground, while backs ran at each other at full speed using all their guile trying to catch the opposition off-guard.
The Uplands XI team scored a total of six tries. Willie Engelbrecht (flanker) scored the first taking an inside pass after a full back-line move. Another back-line move on the counter-attack led to a try for Joshua Weir (fullback), Hanro Kolbé (right wing) scored two tries and JP Meintjies (left wing) scored an outstanding
individual try after cutting through the Penryn defence.
Andrew Jackson (lock and captain) showed alertness going over from a tap-kick penalty close to Penryn College’s line. The hosts, who never gave up, scored three very good tries of their own, but lost 17-30.
The losing team was under-standably disappointed.
“We didn’t perform to our potential and that makes it even harder to accept defeat. All credit to Uplands who played accurate rugby on the day and used their possession wisely. Luckily there is another derby coming up on May 31.
“This will give my boys a chance to redeem themselves. With the character and potential we’ve got in our 1st XV it’s one of our goals we’ll work towards this 2014 season,” said coach Gunther Swart.
Netball
The Uplands girls played exceptionally well and it showed in their results, winning seven of the nine games played. A total of 108 goals were scored, and they conceded only 53.
The second team had a close game, narrowly losing 9-8 against Penryn.
Chess
Uplands took a very young but talented team to face Penryn on Friday in a chess tournament where each player had to play the same opponent twice.
Thirteen players went into a battle that produced thrills, heartaches and glorious moments. Penryn won the final points tally thanks to a solid overall performance.
