Team Profile: Tornadoes
UCT Steinhoff Internal League, the Tornadoes, were established on the fields of Rondebosch Boys’ High School in 1999. We profile this successful side and find out just what makes them tick… ‘U Cha Cha!’.
A bunch of mates from local schools decided that they wanted to continue playing post-school and that there was no better place to do it, socially, than the UCT Internal League.
A core of people, most notably, the Jedi and the Scotsman, who are still around lending a hand today, played in the champion side of 1999. The Tornadoes have blossomed ever since, however, with some eight titles up until 2009, before also graduating to the 2010 Steinhoff Koshuisrugby Championships which is played alongside the Varsity Cup.
The Nadoes, as they are affectionately known (or not so affectionately to some!), have become more than a rugby side over the years, as they have branched off into cricket, squash and even road-running.
The Nadoes family has spread and people far and wide on a Wednesday will contact each other with well wishes and the customary, “Happy Nadoes Day” or “U Cha Cha”.
What is consistent throughout, however, is the emphasis on fun, fellowship and being the best you can be. Although not even remotely professional, the Nadoes are always keen to push the boundaries, and take on whatever they can, in the name of good old fashioned ‘good times’! Activities such as the Plettenberg Bay tour, the Nadoes Sevens cricket, the glitzy formal dinner and the touch rugby championships all supplement the pinnacle of all events – the Internal League, where over the winter months, the boys slug it out to bring home that coveted trophy.
Whether it be cold and blustery or dry and still, the energy up on the Green Mile is unrivalled on a Wednesday night, as the boys pull on the Red and Black jersey with the enthusiasm of a small child making his first pilgrimage to Disney Land, or a young man making his Springbok debut at Ellis Park. Exchanges of bravado and much gusto are the norm, as the boys feel the enjoyment of playing for the Nadoes. But without doubt, the now somewhat legendary fines meetings are what people often remember – or not? – about the Nadoes.
Slightly different from the norm, these are about loud singing and shouting, haka-performing, shirt ripping, preach-making and anything else that goes. This is where the most quietest man may become a rockstar, where the loudest man may show off his downing skills, and where the Donkey will no doubt get down on bended knee to the sounds of “It’s in your head” or “Nadoes till I die”.
The Nadoes hope to carry on for many a year as the generations pass on before our eyes. With the likes of USA international Dallen Stanford and former Springboks Robbie Fleck and Hanyani Shimange having worn the Red and Black. Who knows who will be the next great to come from this stock? Just this year, UCT’s newest backline star, Marcel Brache, came out of the Nadoes and stepped up to the Varsity Cup in a big way.
And we have no doubt that a few more will continue that tradition – but one thing is for certain, they will know where they came from, and will be sure to whisper the words, U Cha Cha, on a Wednesday – wherever they may be.
