Rugby, Sport Results

Snr Rugby Result vs Pearson

It was tough going for Union’s rugby teams in Port Elizabeth on Saturday, 20 July.

Playing in ice-cold weather against tough opposition, the teams recorded the following results in their encounter against Person High School: the u/14As lost 3 – 43, the u/15As lost 7 – 51, the u/16As lost 5 – 34, the second tea lost 0- 62 and the 1st XV lost 5 – 53.

Despite the results, the Union boys showed great character and fight in every game that was played and stayed true to showing …great sportsmanship.

The 1st XV knew they were in for an epic battle and took the field well prepared and ready for the clash.  The first half lived up to expectations and both sides gave everything they had with hard running attack and big-hitting defence.  Union, unfortunately, had two lapses in defence and allowed Pearson to cross the line twice – this proved to be the only scoring opportunities in this half, as Union’s defence stood strong for what remained of the first half.  Union went into the break 12 – 0 down and still very much in the game.

The second half, however, proved to be very different – the Union team was unable to curb the flow of attacks from Pearson who were able to hold on to possession better than the Union team.  In the end, the Pearson team proved too strong.

Despite the scoreline, the Union boys gave it their all and never backed down.

They showed tremendous character, managing to hold onto the ball at stages and in the end, the best passage of play came in the last 5 to 10 minutes, where Union put together some wonderful phases and running rugby, managing to cross the line through Cleathon Koeberg.

Although the encounter didn’t deliver the desired results, good lessons were learned.

Rugby, Sport Results

New Rugby Kit for U/13As

During the recent Anne Beagley Junior Rugby and Hockey Festival, Union’s u/13A rugby team took the field in their brand new rugby kit.

This was made possible by the generous sponsorship of the Desert Springs Spur and Graaff-Reinet Mica.  The team’s coach, Floris Steenkamp, thanks them for this gesture.  “The team looks really great! Your support is not something we take lightly and is very much appreciated by the school. The new kit will go a long way in inspiring the players to believe in themselves.” he said

 

Hockey, Rugby, Sport Results

Sport Results vs Gill College and Gill Primary School

Emotions ran high during Saturday’s derby day against Gill College and Gill Primary School.

The day, which was as usual characterised by wonderful interaction between the schools involved, saw the matric 1st XV rugby boys represent Union High School for the very last time on home soil.

Many Old Unionites filled the stands to support the players.

Rugby Results

The rugby matches against Gill delivered mixed results, with the U/14s losing 10 – 20, the U/15s winning 36 – 7, the U/16s winning 47 – 12, the second team winning 31 – 12 and the 1st XVs losing 16 – 21.

Senior 1st Team Report
The first team match – which also happened to be the matric 1st XV rugby boys’ last one on home soil – was fiercely contested with both teams taking the lead on occasions.  Union managed to gain the lead and maintained it until the last five minutes.

However, in a game where Union dominated possession and set phases, the Union players were, unfortunately, unable to take full advantage of the many opportunities presented to them, which allowed Gill to stay in the game.

The only difference between the two sides on the day was that one was able to take full advantage of their chances, therefore, in the end, it was Gill College that came out on top winning the match 21 – 16.

Although it was a tough start to the third term, the team hopes to bounce back in a spectacular fashion in their next fixture against Pearson.

Hockey Results

Union’s hockey teams had a successful encounter against Gill today, with the 1st Juniors winning their match 3 – 0 and the 2nd Juniors winning 1 – 0.

The school’s senior 2nd team won 8 – 0 and the 1st team enjoyed a 17 – 0 victory.

Senior 1st Team Report
Gill opted to play a match of 4 quarters which seemed to suit the Union girls’ style of play and saw the 1st quarter provide 4 brilliantly worked goals in favour of Union.

Union then continued to dominate the match with some slick and accurate passing and great finishing in the goal area. Three goals were scored in the 2nd quarter, 6 in the 3rd and 4 in the last quarter.

The final score stood at 17 – 0 in Union’s favour.

The Union girls put up a good performance overall and positive signs are showing ahead of some tough fixtures to come.

Union’s goals were scored by Micela Loock (7), Jenna McNaughton (3), Henze Japhta (4), Laetitia Theron (1), Chelsea Theron (1) and Jade Shires (1).

Junior 1st Team Report
After a long holiday break, the girls got off to a rather slow start, with some uninspiring play.   As the first half continued however, Union eventually found their rhythm and began to play to their strengths against the determined Gill side. Shortly before the half time whistle sounded, Lisa Menos and Leshay Fourie scored an opportunistic goal to put Union into the lead. The second half saw Union stepping up the pace and dominating play. Soso Mroro and Chloe Erasmus collaborated beautifully to add to the scoreboard with a text-book perfect, field goal; and then Lisa Menos and Leshay Fourie again proved to be the duo of the day as they slotted home the final goal of the match, giving Union a convincing 3-0 win.

It is incredible to see how much this young team has grown over the course of the season and we can only hope that they maintain this momentum as we work towards the end of the season which culminates with the traditional inter-school’s fixture.

 

Hockey, Rugby, Sport Results

Westering Co-Ed Festival

This weekend, Port Elizabeth’s Westering High School hosted their 11th biennial Co-Ed Festival, playing host to 17 schools with around 800 participating learners from around the country.

Jade Shires was announced as the Player of the Match in the Union vs Cambridge game

Union’s 1st hockey and rugby teams were among those who attended this much-anticipated sports festival.

The hockey team beat Port Alfred 12 – 0, lost 0 – 2 to Westering, drew 0 – 0 against Cambridge, won 5 – 0 against Linkside and drew 0 – 0 against Framesby.

The rugby team had two matches over the weekend. They, unfortunately, lost 14 – 24 against Fairmont and 36 – 17 against Itembelihle.

Rugby, Sport Results

U/18 Rugby Academy Week

The 2019 SA Rugby Youth Weeks Series kicked off at Grey College in Bloemfontein today (Monday, 1 July).

One of the tournaments – the U18 Rugby Academy Week – sees Union High School’s Bladen Jacobs, Cleathon Koeberg and Sbongakonke Koyingana representing the Eastern Province Country Districts (EPCD) squad.

Accompanying them is UHS educator Mr. Christopher Felix who is serving as the assistant coach of the EPCD team.

Rugby, Sport Results

Snr Rugby Results vs Graeme College

Graeme College proved to be formidable opponents on the rugby field on Saturday, 8 June.

The visiting teams ended the encounter against Union’s rugby teams unbeaten, winning the matches between the u/14As 51 – 0, the u/15Bs 71 – 3, the u/15As 24 – 19, the u/16As 34 – 7, the second teams 24 – 5 and the 1st XVs 69 – 3.

While the results might not have been what the Union teams were hoping for today, it’s often been said that you learn more from losing than you do from winning.

This was indeed a valuable learning opportunity for the Union teams who, after a well-deserved break this school holidays, will kick off their 3rd term fixtures motivated and better prepared because of it

Rugby, Sport Results

Snr Rugby Results vs Westering

UHS claims victory at annual derby day

This past Saturday, 25 May, Union High School travelled to Port Elizabeth to face Westering High School in the two schools’ much-anticipated annual derby day.

A very early start to the day and a 3-hour bus trip tested the Union players’ character from the get-go.  The rugby games started at 09:15 on dewy fields which made handling very tough for both schools.

The willingness to succeed and teamwork proved to be the difference in the junior ranks. UHS won two out of the three junior matches, which encouraged the senior teams to give it their all.

The second team once again proved way too strong for their opponents and dominated all facets of the game. This was a true reflection of the depth Union has in the senior rugby ranks and the benefit of the first and second team practicing well together.

Union’s 1st XV stated their intentions from the first whistle, as Zusakhe Ngwane leaped into the air to reclaim possession from a Jaden Brotherton kick-off. This moment set the tone for the rest of the match as Union put Westering under pressure for the duration of the game.

Westering defended admirably, but after 15 minutes of continuous defense, Junior Duba broke the line untouched to score under the poles. Brett Amsterdam added the conversion.

A few minutes later, a lack of discipline led to a Westering penalty. The score now read 7 – 3 in favour of UHS.  Union continued to apply pressure but failed to convert the hard work into points. Westering pounced on a defensive error and scored an unconverted try. The score now stood at 8 – 7 in Westering’s favour after 18 minutes of play.  Union, however, regained composure and controlled the pace at which the game was played.

Holding onto possession and continuity, led to Junior Duba crossing over for his second try. Brett Amsterdam converted to put Union 14 – 8 ahead. Five minutes later, Khwezi Simon dotted over for a well-worked team try. The conversion was missed and the score now stood at 19 – 8 in favour of Union’s ‘Mighty Whites’.  A lack in depth on attack and playing away from the ball, saw Westering intercept a pass and score a converted try for the score to read 19 – 15 in Union’s favour.

Under a bit of scoreboard pressure, Zusakhe Ngwane showed his experience by quick tapping a penalty to put Ashton Dawids in space to cross over in the corner. Brett Amsterdam used the wind well to slot a difficult touchline conversion. Union went into half time 26 – 15 up.

The second half started off very similar to the beginning of the match, as Union continued to apply pressure to Westering’s defense. They continued to defend with all their might, but individual brilliance from Junior Duba saw him cross the whitewash for his hat-trick. Brett Amsterdam converted to increase Union’s lead to 33 – 15.

Westering replied with a good chip and gather try. They converted to make the score stand at 33 – 22.  Wonderful skills and interplay by Union’s backline then led to a try by Brett Amsterdam. He converted to take Union’s tally to 40 points.  With five minutes to go on the clock, Union broke through the heart of Westering’s defense and saw the UHS backline casually shift the ball from fly-half to wing untouched with no defenders in sight. Junior Duba crossed the line to score his fourth try of the game.

Union won the match 45 – 22.

The try scorers for Union, were Junior Duba (4), Khwezi Simon, Ashton Dawids and Brett Amsterdam.

Brett Amsterdam successfully converted 5 from 7.

The other matches during the course of the morning, saw Union’s u/14As lose, the u/15As win 19 – 15, the u/16As win 25 – 20 and the second team win 48 – 3.

Thanks are extended to all the parents and old scholars for their loyal support of Union’s sports teams.

Rugby, Sport Results

Jnr Rugby Results vs Cradock

In what proved to be a very challenging fixture for Union, the school’s u/13A rugby team came out on top in their encounter against Cradock Primary School (CPS) in Graaff-Reinet on Saturday, 25 May, with the final score standing at 21 – 15 in Union’s favour.

The other matches against CPS, saw the u/7As lose 0 – 30, the u/9Bs win 28 – 7, the u/9As lose 7 – 33, the u/11Bs lose 0 – 50 and the u/13Bs lose 0 – 12.

Thanks are extended to all the supporters who showed up to support the Union teams.

Rugby, Sport Results

Rugby EPCD Academy Side

Union players named for EPCD Academy side

Three Union High School rugby players, (photo left to right) Bladen Jacobs, Cleathon Koeberg and Sbongakonke Koyingana, have been selected to represent the Eastern Province Country Districts (EPCD) u/18 side that will be competing at the upcoming Academy Week.

In addition to this, UHS educator Mr. Christopher Felix will be serving as the assistant coach of the EPCD team.  The Academy Week will be hosted by Grey College in Bloemfontein from 1 to 6 July.

Prior to this, the Union players will meet up with the rest of the team on 22 June in Grahamstown to play a warm-up match at Rhodes University.

This will be followed by a training camp in Aliwal North (from 24 to 29 June) from where they will then depart to participate in Bloemfontein.

Rugby, Sport Results

Jnr Rugby Results vs Niko Brummer

Early Saturday morning, 18 May, Union’s u/13A rugby boys played a very physical match against Niko Brummer from Beaufort-West.

The Union players absorbed countless waves of attack and managed to capitalize on the mistakes of their opposition.

Both teams displayed great determination with the lead changing hands on more than one occasion.  The last five minutes proved to be the difference between the two teams, as the Union players fought hard to see out a 24 – 15 win.

• In their respective matches, the u/11As lost 24 – 10 against Niko Brummer while the u/9As lost 7 – 29 and the u/7As lost 5 – 20 against Graaff-Reinet Primary.