Over the weekend Matthew McNaughton and Daniel McNaughton participated in an archery competition and achieved the following results:
Matthew came 2nd in the 3D category with a score of 274/300.
Daniel came 2nd in the Bull’s Eye competition with a score of 270/300.
1ST XV vs St Andrews Bloemfontein
On Saturday 9 March Union took on St Andrews Bloemfontein in our first home game for the season in what is proving to be a highlight derby day which is eagerly awaited from both schools.
The day started well with the junior teams and 2nd XV putting on remarkable performances which set the perfect platform for an all-out clash between the two schools 1st XV’s.
As expected the game started with a bang and was played at an astounding pace with both teams attacking and defending with everything they had. In the end it was Union that managed to breach the defences first with Luke Mc Naughton crossing the line after excellent ball retention and superb backline play.
St Andrews then hit back with a well- worked try to even the scores out at 5-5 all. Union then capitalised on an excellent build up just before half time where Brett Amsterdam took a quick tap penalty with an excellent run which set Junior Duba up for Union’s second try under the poles which was converted by Jayden Brotherton. Union took the lead at 12-5 at the half way stage.
The second half started as we all expected with aggressive attacking and big hits in defence. Union took the first advantage early on in the second half scoring a fantastic well worked team try through amazing backline play that put Bladen Jacobs away in the corner for our third try to make the score 17-5. Without the hard grind from our forwards up front these platforms cannot be laid for opportunities such as these and credit needs to go to them for showing their dominance in phases against a much bigger pack, making these tries even more spectacular.
From that moment on Union was put under tremendous pressure as St Andrews showed amazing skill with excellent ball retention setting up wave after wave of attack which really tested our defensive grit, forcing Union to make over 100 tackles for the match. Despite the barrage of runners Union’s defences held true with the boys throwing everything they had in stopping St Andrews from crossing the try line. Mention must be made of Mack Rubige, Ebben Johnston and Cleathon Koeberg who lead with the highest tackle counts for the match. In the end it was an out and out team effort on defence which was only breached in the last minute allowing St Andrews to score which ended the match with the final score at 17-10 in favour of Union.
Thank you Eric Fouche for this great video of yesterday's 1st team game!
Posted by UHS (Union High School, Graaff-Reinet) on Sunday, 10 March 2019
U14s won 27-25
U15s won 33-5
U16s drew 19-19
2nds won 38-0
Well done guys!
Greg Beling Festival 8-10 March
Union’s first team hockey girls traveled to East London to take on some top opposition this weekend.
Results:
Union 3 – 4 Kingswood
Union 1 – 4 DSG
Union 1 – 6 Eunice
Union 3 -2 Eldoraine
Out of the 4 games played, the girls proved to be true contenders and were unfortunate not to walk away with a win against Kingswood and DSG. However, this was a major learning experience for the team and there is no doubt that the girls will bounce back this coming weekend.
Well done to the girls on humbly accepting defeat and playing the game in good spirit.
“I believe arts education in music, theater, dance and the visual arts is one of the most creative ways we have to find the gold that is buried just beneath the surface. Children have an enthusiasm for life, a spark of creativity, and vivid imaginations that need training – training that prepares them to become confident young men and women.” (Richard Riley)
In Union’s ongoing bid to educate the whole child, the Middle School staged a brilliant production of ‘The Jungle B…ook’ last week, and on Friday night the audience was thrilled by excellent acting, singing and dancing that filled the packed hall! With increasing demands on teachers to complete the syllabus in very little time, we commend the learners, staff and parents for all that they did to make the production such a success.
One only has to look at the faces in this post to see how our young learners embraced and relished in the roles they performed. It is wonderful to know that such talent is nurtured in our learners. Union is so grateful for the incredible vision of Mrs Avrille Putter who produced this excellent show, backed up by Mrs Sanette Brink, the staff, and of course our wonderful thespians without whom, this would never have happened!
A group of 7 Union High swimmers participated in the Top 8 Invitational Gala on Saturday 9 March, which pits the top swimmers of schools in the province against each other. Our Union High ladies won 4 medals in total and they were well rewarded for all their hard work during the season.
A congratulation to the following swimmers on their medal wins:
Elia Railton: Silver 50m Breaststroke; Bronze 50m Backstroke
Amber Binney: Silver 50 Breaststroke
Megan Doyle: Silver 50m Freestyle
On Saturday our 1st junior hockey girls travelled to port Elizabeth to participate in the Lorraine Tri-sports festival. The girls played three matches in wet and miserable conditions, but performed very well over- all. In the first game we played against Outeniqua Primary from George. The girls took some time to get into the game after the drive and went down 1-0 very quickly. This proved to be the necessary wake-up call and the girls, while not managing to equalise, limited… the score-line to that.
After re-grouping between games, the girls bounced back with 2 fantastic wins. They beat Charlo by 2 goals to 1, with goals coming from Soso Mroro and Chloe Erasmus. Our best performance of the day was undoubtedly against Herbert Hurd who thrashed us last year. The girls played a lovely attacking game with some beautiful passing to end the day with a 4-0 victory. Goals were scored by Soso Mroro (2), Chloe Erasmus and Xarah Hoffman.
Union U/13A’s played rugby at the Lorraine Sports festival on Saturday 9 March. The results are as follow:
Won against Bonzai 25-0
Lost against Gamtoos 10-15
Won against Stirling 35-0
We are very proud of you boys!