Penryn and Uplands share spoils of first derby

Each school walked away with 12 victories during the matches hosted by Penryn on Friday and Saturday.

April 22, 2016

Mireille de Villiers 3 minutes read

The results of the first derby between Penryn College and Uplands College were split down the middle, making for one of the most competitive fixtures between the schools in years.

They played the first of their two annual derbies at Penryn on Friday and Saturday, with each school walking away with 12 victories.

Overall, Penryn were victorious in rugby, winning five of the six matches. In the netball, Uplands’ teams triumphed, winning five for the nine games. Among the hockey teams, Uplands’s boys remained tops, earning wins in three of the five games, with two matches drawn between the teams.

The hockey girls ended even: both schools won three matches each, with two matches ending in a draw.

This year, for the first time, the u/13 rugby and netball teams from the prep schools were included in the fixture. Uplands won both – the rugby by 19-15 and the netball by 14 to 5 points.

Among Penryn College’s rugby victories was the first team match with the hosts beating Uplands 27-5..

Graeme Stewart, head of rugby at Penryn, said both teams tested each other with probing runs, and for the first half the ball was kept close to the rucks with limited ball reaching the backlines.

A rare opportunity saw Ernest Mthwethwa go over for a try. Uplands continued to test Penryn’s defence and were rewarded with a try. At half-time Penryn lead by 8-5. Penryn’s forwards would, however, prove too much for the Uplands pack, and Penryn exploited the gaps which started opening up.

Mthethwa would go on to score another try, along with Hadrick Coertze and Jarred Swanevelder who each contributed one. Mthethwa could convert two, and clear a penalty kick.

“The continuity of play between our forwards and backline and the fact that our defensive lines held, were rewarding as a coach,” Stewart said.

Uplands’ second team defended bravely against Penryn’s mobile players, but could not contain them and they lost10-45.

Penryn’s third team managed to break Uplands’ line and their own defence shut them out of the game for the hosts to win 22-0. Stewart complemented their passion. “It was a pleasure to watch as not many of these boys play rugby full time”.

Uplands’s u/16s beat Penryn by 17 to 14, attributed in part to the latter’s unforced errors. He said both sides of the u/14 and u/15 teams lacked defense at times, but both played good running rugby. Penryn’s u/15s beat Uplands by 15 to 10, and the u/14s beat the visitors by 24 to seven.

Uplands’ teams won the remaining first team games – in netball and both boys and girls hockey.

Their boys hockey was undefeated on the day, with the first team beating Penryn by 2 to 1 in a well contested battle.

Uplands captain Kwanda Majola said the boys played well. “A lapse in concentration led to us conceding goals, but we were in it for the whole game and kept it close. We look forward to the second derby.”

Uplands College sports co-ordinator Brendan Fowler said the first team girls hockey game was closely contested, with Uplands securing a 2-1 victory in the dying seconds of the game.

Penryn coach Michail Doumanis said the girls’ match was a very even contest. “Unfortunately we made a couple of silly errors that led to goals. At first team level you can’t afford to make mistakes.”

The visitors’ first netball team also dominated in a convincing victory of 32 to 16 over Penryn.

Full results:

Hockey boys

First team: Uplands 2-1 Penryn

Second team: Uplands 3-2 Penryn

U/16A: Uplands 0-0 Penryn

U/16B: Uplands 1-1 Penryn

U/14A: Uplands 1-0 Penryn

Hockey girls

First team: Uplands 2-1 Penryn

Second team: Uplands 1-4 Penryn

U/16A: Uplands 2-1 Penryn