Author: L. Crankshaw

On Saturday, 8 August we were pleased to recognise a special milestone for five of our Union High School, Graaff-Reinet 1st team hockey players.

Ahead of the #Interschools2026 match against Hoër Volkskool, Headmaster Mr William Pringle and coach Mr Calvin Beck presented the girls with certificates to mark the occasion. 𝗠𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗮 𝗡𝗲𝘄𝘁𝗼𝗻, 𝗠𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗶 𝗩𝗼𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 and 𝗟𝗲𝗶𝗴𝗵-𝗔𝗻𝗻 𝗠𝘂𝗿𝗿𝗮𝘆 have each reached 𝟭𝟱𝟬 𝗰𝗮𝗽𝘀 for the 1st team, while 𝗔𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝗦𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿 and 𝗞𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗹𝘆𝗻 𝗧𝗿𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗽 have reached 𝟭𝟬𝟬 𝗰𝗮𝗽𝘀.

Behind each of those numbers are many practices, matches, early mornings and hours spent together on the turf. 𝗜𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗮 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝗿𝗲𝗳𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗶𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺 and to Union hockey over the years.

Grade 12 100+ cap plaques

On Tuesday our five Grade 12 hockey players were awarded their 𝟭𝟬𝟬+ 𝗰𝗮𝗽 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀 in the Derek Light Technical Area at the Union High School, Graaff-Reinet AstroTurf – a special tradition reserved for players who complete their Union hockey careers having represented the school in more than 100 first-team matches.

For these girls, 𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝗻𝘂𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹𝘀 𝗮 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘀 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗳 – of practices and early mornings, long trips and tough matches, friendships, lessons, victories and disappointments and the privilege of pulling on their Union kit time and again.

Together, they are affectionately known within the team as the 𝗕𝗶𝗴 𝟱 – five girls who have shared so much of their Union hockey journey alongside one another and who now leave their names and numbers together at the AstroTurf they have called home.

𝗟𝗲𝗶𝗴𝗵-𝗔𝗻𝗻 𝗠𝘂𝗿𝗿𝗮𝘆 – 162 caps
𝗠𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗮 𝗡𝗲𝘄𝘁𝗼𝗻 – 156 caps
𝗠𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗶 𝗩𝗼𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 – 151 caps
𝗔𝗺𝘆 𝗪𝗮𝗱𝗱𝗲𝗹𝗼𝘄 – 134 caps
𝗞𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗹𝘆𝗻 𝗧𝗿𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗽 – 101 caps

Captain Leigh-Ann is ending her school hockey career on an extraordinary 162 caps – 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁-𝗰𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗱 𝗵𝗼𝗰𝗸𝗲𝘆 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘆𝗲𝗿 𝗶𝗻 𝗨𝗻𝗶𝗼𝗻’𝘀 𝗵𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆.

𝘎𝘪𝘳𝘭𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘈𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘛𝘶𝘳𝘧, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭 𝘭𝘦𝘨𝘢𝘤𝘺 𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘦𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘯𝘶𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘴 – 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘸𝘯, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘹𝘢𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘮.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗮 𝗽𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗹𝗲𝗴𝗲 𝗶𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝘄𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗨𝗻𝗶𝗼𝗻.

May you always look back on this little corner of the turf and remember just how much of yourselves you gave here.

𝗪𝗘𝗟𝗟 𝗗𝗢𝗡𝗘 to our 1st team hockey girls on claiming a 2-0 victory over Volkskool at Interschools 2026!

This was a proper Interschools Match. Volkskool came ready to fight, and they made us work for every single minute. It was physical, intense and everything an Interschools should be.

We dominated most of the game, created countless opportunities and earned short corners, but we lacked patience inside the D and rushed chances that deserved more composure. Then came the breakthrough.

A cynical tackle gave us a penalty stroke, and Katelyn Trollip stepped up and delivered.1–0 UHS.

The second half tested us. It was physical, emotional and tough, but our girls stayed together. We earned another stroke but couldn’t convert it. Misha Newton showed incredible composure to create an opportunity, following a simple clearing error from Volkskool, we capitalized and found the back of the net with another field goal. 2-0 UHS

Five consecutive Interschools victories. First Team girls, five in a row.

You are now part of something bigger than yourselves. You are part of the UHS Hockey legacy.

Thank you for making me proud.
Thank you for making Union proud.
And thank you for showing everyone what it means to play for the badge.

Other results:

This victory isn’t just about the First Team.

U14A won 8–0.
Second Team won 2–1.
U16A fought bravely, going down 0–1.
The U/11A put in an excellent display, securing a convincing 5–1 victory.
The U/13B played out a tight and disciplined match, finishing with a 0–0 draw.
The U/13A were involved in another closely fought encounter, narrowly losing 1–2.

To every girl who put on that Union Jersey this weekend “We am proud of you.”

You stood on that field carrying more than a stick and a ball.

You played for your teammates.
You played for your school.
And you played to make the badge proud.

𝘚𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯 𝘢 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘰𝘢𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦.

On Saturday afternoon, Union’s 1st XV recorded a 41-15 victory over Volkskool – their first Interschools win since 2018 and Union’s biggest-ever winning score against Volkskool at Interschools.

𝗔 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘂𝗹𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗽 𝗼𝗳 𝗯𝗼𝘆𝘀, their coaches and everyone who has walked the road with them this season.

Match report:
Union High’s 1st XV capped off their season with a historic victory against Hoër Volkskool in the final Interschools clash of 2026, recording their highest score since 1922 and securing the second-biggest winning margin in the fixture’s long history.

The match began with tension as Volkskool opened the scoring with a penalty after just five minutes. Union responded immediately from the kickoff: after three phases, the ball was spread wide to the wing where Josh Arends showed blistering pace to cross in the left corner, cleverly keeping himself infield. Qhama Solomon, unfazed by the strong wind, slotted the conversion from the touchline.

Having lost the coin toss, Union had to play into the wind in the first half — not part of the plan — but they adapted brilliantly. Within minutes, Elvandre Meyer produced a crunching tackle on Volkskool’s lock, forcing the ball loose. Ronan Ewers pounced and scored under the posts, giving Solomon another easy conversion.

Volkskool struck back with a well-executed backline move to score in the right corner, though they missed the conversion, leaving the score at 14–8. Union then played smart rugby, opting for a penalty kick to extend their lead to 17–8. Sustained pressure followed, and when Volkskool collapsed a powerful Union maul, the referee awarded a penalty try, stretching the lead to 24–8.

Union’s backline and kicking game were superb, with Leander Kraai at fullback and Calum Jacobs at lock consistently fielding and returning Volkskool’s tactical kicks with precision. Their efforts set up field position for Junior de Bruin to score from a pick-and-drive, converted once again by Solomon, making it 31–8.

In the second half, with the wind dying down, Union knew Volkskool would throw everything at them. The boys held firm, defending fiercely and attacking with composure. A mismatch in phase play allowed Qhama Solomon to slice through for a brilliant solo try, which he converted himself, pushing the score to 41–8.

Volkskool managed a late consolation try in the 67th minute, but Union’s defense held strong to close out the match 41–15.

This emphatic win was more than just a scoreline — it was the culmination of years of hard work, resilience, and unity. Every hardship, every victory, and every loss built towards this glorious moment. The boys were ecstatic, and rightly so: they earned every bit of glory.

Other rugby results:

U14: 30-19
U15: 10-10
U16: 3-36
2^nd: 24-14

The U/11A went down 0–38, while the U/11B fought hard but ultimately lost 7–32.

The U/13A produced a closely contested performance, narrowly losing 10–12 in what was a competitive encounter that could have gone either way.

The U/13B faced a difficult challenge and lost 0–50, but the boys continued to show commitment and represented the school with pride.