Progress (2011) - a documentary film about a rugby club made up mainly of factory workers and unemployed men who defeat the largest rugby club in the world on South Africa's Heritage Day.

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Over the course of several months, we followed the players of Progress rugby club in the Eastern Cape town of Uitenhage, as they reflect on the game that caused a stir in South African sport. 

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Progress was well received by South African audiences and critically acclaimed. It was licensed by BBC and screened at the Encounters Documentary Film Festival in Cape Town and Johannesburg. The film featured in South African Airways’ in-flight movie schedule, screened at Cape Town’s Labia Cinema, and on TV in New Zealand and South Africa (SABC). The film received some of the following reviews:

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"A fascinating film, both for what it tells us about rugby in today's South Africa and for its moving human side. The on-field footage is much more like the real thing than we ever see in commercial television."

JM Coetzee, Nobel Prize winner

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“This film will forever change the way rugby is perceived in South Africa. Progress tells the story of a group of players, mostly factory workers and unemployed, whose sweat and skills went unnoticed beyond dusty township fields until they travelled to the spiritual home of South African rugby – and caused the shock of the century.”

Rugby World, the world’s best-selling rugby magazine

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In many respects Progress was ahead of its time as it contributes to the transformation dialogue in South African sport, and particularly in rugby - which remains a controversial subject. 

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Progress in the media: - 

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Field of dreams, Cape Times

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The rugby revolution is not being televised, Africa is a country

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