Feature article: Winning isn’t everything High school rugby in South Africa is notoriously competitive. This has much About a fortnight before the match we shared to do with the prominence of rugby as a training ground with the opposing team. They the standout national pastime. As in New used the field and adjacent training facilities Zealand, rugby is deeply embedded in the before my team arrived for an evening session national psyche to the point that many under floodlights. As I was getting strapped by people think it more closely resembles a one of our coaches, I noticed a small handbook religion than a sport. in the corner of the change room. It appeared to have fallen under one of the benches and During my high school’s rugby season, one remained largely out of view. particular match was always circled in the calendar as the most important game of I picked it up and opened the first page. the season. Our annual grudge match with Instantly I knew that I was holding the keys to the neighbouring school was to be played victory in the upcoming match, for sitting in my at a neutral venue with large parochial hands was the entire playbook of the opposing crowds anticipating something special. team. I began paging through it as I became increasingly excited by the inevitable triumph My team-mates and I spent months that awaited my team. studying our opposition and squeezing in extra training sessions in the weeks I hurried over to my coach to break the good leading up to the match. As captain of my news. Holding up the notebook I remember team, it’s no exaggeration to say that in the stating clearly that ‘coach, we’ve got this game build-up to the game it became the single in the bag. The idiots left their playbook in the most important thing in my life, and not an change room!’ hour went by when I wasn’t thinking about it in some way. My coach calmly accepted the book, opened the first page, and then, to my utter This situation, with the ultimate success bewilderment, closed it before placing it in his of our season resting on the outcome, kitbag and telling me that we would discuss provided the backdrop to my first real the matter after training. lesson in ethics and integrity as they relate to sport. ‘After training! We can start going through the 12 Play by the Rules Magazine Issue 29