Rain greets UCT's Internal League

The new semester's Steinhoff Internal League action got underway at UCT last week with several big encounters and some great rugby.

The evening was marred only by the usual Green Mile rain and some teams having players unavailable to the squad due to UCT external fixtures being scheduled on the same night and their players having commitments to the UCT RFC.

One of the surprises of the night was a strong-willed Ikhaya side downing the Spanners, last year's fourth-placed side, 12-5.

If truth be told, the Ikhaya boys wanted the victory a lot more than the Spanners who seemed flat and deflated - possibly due to the long break in the calendar due to Varsity holidays. Ikhaya played with a lot of determination and didn't squander the opportunities that arose to them. Part of the reason for this was their ability to retain the ball, something that has previously eluded them this year.

Nadoes took on Smuts and may have been shocked to win only 17-0 against the spirited res side, though the conditions were certainly not conducive to the normal running Nadoe brand of rugby.

The played well though and again looked like strong title challengers this year which would have heartened players and fans alike. Smuts, however, again showed that they are one of the toughest res sides this year and will be pleased with certain aspects of their game - despite the loss.

Clarendon clashed with the Panthers and managed to live up to many of the expectations that they created after last semester's pool stages by downing the strong Panthers outfit 11-5. Panthers certainly started strongly, but were unable to make the most of the gains they produced and eventually through some smart kicking and strong defence, the Clarendon Knights managed to prevail.

The Wildboys took on Ubumbo in a match that many expected Ubumbo to dominate as they had looked the stronger of the two sides in last semester's group stages. The Wildboys, however, stepped up to the plate and put their bodies on the line for the full 60 minutes of rugby - taking the game 7-0.

Ubumbo were, perhaps, guilty of running the ball too much and not securing the ball in the tackle situation, two crucial facets of wet weather rugby.

In fact, it was a turnover in this vein that lead to the Wildboys try of the night. An Ubumbo forward got the ball and attempted to crash it up, but a ferocious Wildboys tackle allowed the ball to squirt loose with the resulting counter-attack from the turnover leading to the only try of the evening.

In what many hoped would be the headline clash of the evening and perhaps the acid test for the Baa-baas' title aspirations, the Cobras were expected to take on the Barbarians.

It is unfortunate that the fixture never took place as it is certain it would have been a match to remember as the last one, two years ago, when the Baa-baas denied the Cobras in the semifinals in a dramatic penalty shootout. Unfortunately, too many of the Baa-baas players were committed to UCT external rugby and thus could field only 14 men and had to forfeit the match.

The quandary, however, does beg the question as to the wisdom of scheduling matches of the internal league on the same nights as external league action, as it can lead to a dilemma if the Internal League sides do the right thing and release their players for the external sides.

With the internal league ending in September only it can reasonably be expected that such fixture clashes, if they result, could be re-organised to another date to allow for the fixtures to take place with full-strength sides.

Fixture clashes not only hurt those teams that do not have a big enough squad to cope but also the smaller teams who lose some of their best players and the quality of rugby on display.

To be honest, a forfeited fixture hurts the reputation and enjoyment of the Internal League and perhaps more care should be taken in the future to ensure such clashes do not happen again and if they do, that they are resolved by means other than just trying to plough through the problem.

However, apart from this one incident, the night in general was a success as a rainy and wet Green Mile welcomed back the players and fans of the internal League. One can only hope that the rest of the games make for just as thrilling encounters as the opening night.

Wednesday's (August 12) fixtures:
(Wrap-up to follow later this week!)
Shebeen Boys v Spanners, 5.30pm
Turtles v Marquard, 5.30pm
Nadoes v Ubumbo, 6.30pm
University House v College House, 6.30pm
U20 Cubs v Helderberg B, 6.30pm
Ikhaya v Kopano, 7.30pm
Smuts v Wild Boys, 8.30pm

By Rory Holmes