Union High School, Graaff-Reinet’s rugby teams traveled to Woodridge College in Gqeberha this past Saturday for their annual rugby derby, a much-anticipated event following last year’s narrow defeat.
๐๐๐ ๐จ๐ฅ๐ค๐ฉ๐ก๐๐๐๐ฉ ๐ฌ๐๐จ ๐ค๐ฃ ๐ฉ๐๐ 1๐จ๐ฉ ๐๐ ๐ข๐๐ฉ๐๐, ๐๐จ ๐๐ฃ๐๐ค๐ฃ ๐จ๐ค๐ช๐๐๐ฉ ๐ง๐๐๐๐ข๐ฅ๐ฉ๐๐ค๐ฃ ๐๐๐ฉ๐๐ง ๐๐ค๐ค๐๐ง๐๐๐๐’๐จ ๐ก๐๐จ๐ฉ-๐ข๐๐ฃ๐ช๐ฉ๐ ๐ซ๐๐๐ฉ๐ค๐ง๐ฎ ๐๐ฃ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐ฅ๐ง๐๐ซ๐๐ค๐ช๐จ ๐๐๐ญ๐ฉ๐ช๐ง๐.
The match started with Woodridge College taking the lead, scoring 19 points by halftime despite Union’s dominance in possession and territory. ๐๐ช๐ด๐ต๐ข๐ฌ๐ฆ๐ด ๐ง๐ณ๐ฐ๐ฎ ๐๐ฏ๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ง๐ต ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฎ ๐ต๐ณ๐ข๐ช๐ญ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ 0-19 ๐ข๐ต ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฃ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฌ.
However, the second half saw a remarkable turnaround for Union’s 1st XV. They tightened their play, executing their structure and set pieces effectively. This newfound cohesion led to Union’s first points through a maul try. Momentum built, and Union scored three more tries. Despite failing to convert these tries, Union’s tally reached 20 points, overtaking Woodridge’s 19 points.๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐บ๐ฎ๐๐ฐ๐ต ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐ฐ๐น๐๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐๐ถ๐๐ต ๐จ๐ป๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐๐ฒ๐ฐ๐๐ฟ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฎ ๐ฑ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐บ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ฐ ๐ฎ๐ฌ-๐ญ๐ต ๐๐ถ๐ฐ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐.
Other matches saw mixed results for Union:
โข U14: Union 7 – 40 Woodridge
โข U15: Union 3 – 24 Woodridge
โข U16: Union 15 – 12 Woodridge
In a nail-biting encounter, the Union High Schools U16A rugby team faced off against Woodridge College. The game was closely contested, with both teams giving their all. As the clock ticked down, Union found themselves trailing by just four points. Woodridge College was on the attack, putting immense pressure on the U16A defence. In a dramatic turn of events, we managed to regain possession of the ball. With determination and skill, they orchestrated a beautiful try. Josh Arends ran a brilliant line, crossing the try line to secure victory for the team. Similo Mvandaba sealed the deal with a drop kick conversion.
The final whistle blew, and the team celebrated their hard-fought win. It was a testament to their teamwork, resilience, and unwavering spirit.
โข 2nd XV: Union 7 – 17 Woodridge
๐๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ, ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฃ๐บ ๐ด๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ค๐ข๐ด๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ด๐ช๐ญ๐ช๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ค๐ฆ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฎ๐ช๐ฏ๐ข๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐๐ฏ๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ’๐ด ๐ณ๐ถ๐จ๐ฃ๐บ ๐ต๐ฆ๐ข๐ฎ๐ด, ๐ธ๐ช๐ต๐ฉ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ 1๐ด๐ต ๐๐’๐ด ๐ต๐ฉ๐ณ๐ช๐ญ๐ญ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฃ๐ข๐ค๐ฌ ๐ด๐ต๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ต ๐ข๐ด ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฉ๐ช๐จ๐ฉ๐ญ๐ช๐จ๐ฉ๐ต ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฅ๐ข๐บ.