SCHOOL SUCCESS
THE STORY OF THE RISE OF TSS
WHEN Tom Van der Schyff left Durban as a nine-yearold, he never imagined following in the footsteps of Wallabies Nathan Sharpe and Rob Simmons at The Southport School.
Just like that dominant duo, young lock Van der Schyff, 18, is the pillar of a new TSS pack as the Gold Coast school embarks on another season of GPS rugby.
Hosting Churchie on Saturday will be a testing start for fancied TSS even with four boys fresh from being named in the preliminary Australian Schoolboys squad.
Van der Schyff excelled as
the Queensland Schoolboys captain in Sydney last week beside ginger-haired halfback Spencer Jeans, hooker Tyrell Kopua and prop Zane Nongorr.
“It was a real privilege to be captain and an honour to be among the (14) Queensland boys picked for that Australian squad,” Van der Schyff said.
“We really jelled as a Queensland squad and it’s going to be hard, in a way, to now play against those same boys who have become good friends.
“The TSS boys are all close. We grew up playing together and we’ve reaped the rewards together.
“We love the close rivalries in GPS rugby and the respect it has, especially in a year like this when it’s the 100-years celebration.”
TSS has become a powerhouse in GPS rugby with six premierships this century, including the golden years of 2006-07.
Reds fullback Jono Lance and Ben Tapuai, James Slipper and Luke Morahan, all to become Wallabies, were part of the 2007 side.
Simmons shared in the 2006 premiership and remembers a team coach going on stage at TSS and motioning towards the photo of old boy Sharpe.
“He said, ‘guys like this had the dedication to go on with it’,” Simmons said.
“I thought ‘whatever’. I was just enjoying that we’d had a good year and was certainly not thinking of Wallabies.”
Now, 85 Tests and a bent nose later, Simmons knows how wise those words were.