Category: Rugby

• 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.

The U/13A’s match that followed was played under challenging conditions with the boys putting together their best performance to date.  The first half was dominated by hard running from the backs leading to a 31-point lead at half-time.  The second half proved challenging, as Union had very little possession. A massive defensive effort, however, secured Union a 46-10 victory in the end.

The Union teams can be tremendously proud of their performance.

Union’s u/14As lost 10 – 33, the u/15As (in the accompanying photos) won 24 – 19, the u/16As lost 22-24 and the second team won 19 – 7.  The third team, who played against Murraysburg High School, won 15 – 12.

After all these matches were finalised, spectators were treated to an epic clash between the two schools’ 1st XVs.  The match lived up to all expectations and had everyone on the edge of their seats for a thrilling 70 minutes.

Burgersdorp was first to cross the line with a well-played move from a set piece.  Union bounced back and continued to build pressure, holding onto possession and putting together some wonderful phases until they could take advantage of a well-set lineout. This saw Brett Amsterdam cross the line which he then also converted to put the scores level.

Union continued to maintain possession and control territory which led to a well-worked team try scored by Khwezi Simon.  Union was, unfortunately, unable to take advantage of this lead and allowed Burgersdorp to score on the brink of half time with the scores standing at 12 – 12 at the break.

In the second half, Burgersdorp was again first to strike with a try against the run of play.  Union managed to stay composed and once again put together phase after phase of attack, unfortunately, a lack of accuracy in the set pieces kept Union from crossing the line.  Despite the inaccuracy, the continued pressure allowed for some individual brilliance from Lihle Mxhunyelwa, who touched down under the poles for Brett Amsterdam to convert to level up the scores.  This seemed to give Union a boost in confidence and the team once again managed to maintain possession and dominate territory.

Unfortunately, Union was unable to capitalize on the advantages they gave themselves and allowed Burgersdorp to take advantage of their inaccuracy at set pieces which put the Union team under pressure.

In the end, Union was unable to keep Burgersdorp from crossing the line to clinch the match in the last minute and lost the match 19 – 26.

The u/9B team won 27 – 15, the U/9A team lost 0 – 24, the U/11As won 27 – 5 and the U/13Bs won 32 – 12.

The u/13A rugby team played a challenging match against a strong Adelaide team. The game was played at a frantic pace with both teams playing exiting rugby.  Union’s boys managed to stick to their game plan, keeping the ball alive for numerous phases.  Continuous pressure on their opponents led to some brilliant team tries, with Union coming out the victors with a final score of 34 – 0.

The second team completely dominated their match, which encouraged the first team boys to give it everything they’ve got.

The first XV’s match started off with a bang with both teams playing at an incredible pace and intensity.  Lapses in concentration and defensive structures quickly saw the ‘Mighty Whites’ 12 – 0 down.  After calming the storm and regaining composure, the boys soon found their rhythm and got onto the scoreboard through a try by Bowen Langmead.

Aliwal North once again capitalised on one of Union’s mistakes and converted to make the score 19 – 5.  Good interplay between Ashton Dawids and Zusakhe Ngwane saw Union cross the line again.  Brilliant pressure from the base of the scrum saw Brett Amsterdam charge down a kick in the Aliwal North goal area which led to a try by Khanya Butshingi.

Union trailed 19 – 15 at halftime.

UHS regained control of the game in the second half and were first to score in the second half.  A brilliant maul followed up by great play by the backline saw Junior Duba score in the corner.  The scoreboard now read UHS 22 – 19 ANHS.  With confidence growing and good ball possession, Jaden Brotherton created space and put Bladen Jacobs away to score under the poles. Jaden converted to take the score to 27 – 19 in Union’s favour.

Aliwal North once again scored as a result of a blunder by Union and converted to make the score stand at 27 – 26 in favour of Union.  Union held on well and kept their heads in this seesaw battle. The boys showed tremendous character and a fighting spirit to the bitter end.  The final score was Union 27, Aliwal North 26.

Union’s try scorers were Bowen Langmead, Zusakhe Ngwane, Khanya Butshingi, Junior Duba and Bladen Jacobs.

Jaden Brotherton successfully converted 1 from 5.

Other Results

U/14A lost 14 – 17

U/15A team lost19 – 17

U/16A team lost43 – 14

2nd Team won 44 – 12

All teams are encouraged to work hard this week in preparation for the weekend’s fixture against Burgersdorp where the same type of rugby is expected.

The U/15A team beat their opponents 19 – 12, with the U/16As losing 10 – 45.

The third team and the second team then won their matches, 34 – 10 and 19 – 17, respectively.

The all-around tough matches set the tone for the much-awaited 1st XV game that followed.

The game between the two schools’ first teams was tremendously fast-paced from the get-go with both teams taking turns to test each other’s defences with neither one giving way.

The stalemate was broken when Muir converted a penalty kick to take the lead.

The game continued back and forth until Muir, through some individual brilliance, managed to break Union’s defences and crossed the line for the first try of the match.  Despite being behind, Union’s defence held true and although on the back foot, some quick thinking from Brett Amsterdam, turned defence into attack taking a quick tap penalty to put Junior Duba away to cross the line.  Muir kicked another penalty and the teams went into half time, with the score standing at 13-5 in Muir’s favour.

The second half seemed to prove a very different game, with Muir almost immediately taking the advantage to cross the line.  This seemed to have taken the wind out of Union’s sails and the players struggled to recover, leaving our defence breached too easily. This allowed Muir to cross our line almost at will and left too much work to play catch-up.

Despite falling far behind on the scoreboard, the Union boys continued to fight and put together some wonderful phases of attack towards the end of the game. They were finally rewarded for their efforts when Zusakhe Ngwane crossed the line after a well-structured mall from ten meters out.

The game’s final score was 37 – 10 in Muir’s favour.

“As expected, this was a tough, but well-contested match,” says coach Stephen Bezuidenhout. “We were, unfortunately, our own worst enemy and went down to a better side on the day.”