The 10-point try and other 'tall' tales
Fri, 27 Nov 2009 10:07
The Spirit of South African Rugby - Between the lines
Schools rugby, it is said, is the backbone of South African rugby. There are the well-known rivalries and then there are the delightful tales.
Matthew Knight produced an entertaining account of this - Between the Lines: The Spirit of South African Rugby.
rugby365.com's respected writer Paul Dobson assisted in some of the book's content.
With thanks to Penguin, we publish this delightful extract from the book.
GENESIS
Rugby history was made one wintry morning in Durban. Two old rivals had been squaring off against one another from some unreasonable hour of the morning, and the final act of the game was unfolding. The mighty maroon-jerseyed u10Cs were leading their green-clad opponents 12-3, but in a belated burst of enthusiasm the Greens breached the Maroon defence and scored a try beneath the wonky wooden uprights.
The Maroon coach, a geography teacher, made the relevant calculations and concluded that his side were safe. He breathed a sigh of relief - the results in Monday's school assembly would please the boys and the boss - as he watched the small Green halfback place the muddied oval ball on a mound of earth with painstaking precision and step back to admire the poles.
But then, as the halfback began his oft-practised approach to the ball, it toppled over. For a moment there was confusion. Then anarchy. And, finally, 15 Maroon jerseys charged at the kicker. Petrified, he instinctively scooped up the ball and made haste for the safety of the Maroon corner flag. Flinging himself over the white chalk, he planted the ball without a hand being laid upon him and the young referee, who, it should be said, had thoroughly enjoyed his previous evening unto the early hours, promptly awarded the try.
There were vehement protests from the Maroon side who, though young of mind, felt that a 10-point try was impossible. But the score stood and the game ended 13-12 in favour of the Greens.
This is kaalvoet rugby; that naive, barefoot version of rugger played over duiwel thorns and upon frozen Saturday morning fields. It rewards the carefree young souls who play it with numb hands, feet and brains, but still they come back for more - even when they've grown older and greyer and don't bounce as well as they did in their youth. What is the attraction to this reckless sport? Some would argue, perhaps, that it is the fact that for most of us it was ingrained as compulsory enjoyment during our school years - where we were forced to sing cheesy school songs and religiously attend First XV games. But for others those blissful days really did offer the true spirit of ‘the hooligan's game' and afterwards the strange sport of rugger became a fundamental part of their lives. Whatever the case, its purity and spirit is most tangible in those kaalvoet years.
There are enough rugby stories to fill the shelves of many a musty school library, but in this book I've chosen a few persons - from the old and new school, and every other school for that matter - that I feel encapsulate the spirit of South African rugby. The people you will meet may be largely unfamiliar to you but their impact upon the game has been immense. Their stories, and a few other nostalgic anecdotes I've dragged out, will be enjoyable for any true rugby soul, but particularly those who suffered through those seemingly eternal double science lessons on a Friday afternoon and somehow managed to survive for the big derby that followed.
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