Category: Rugby

Rugby, Sport Results

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

Rugby, Sport Results

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

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, Sport Results

Rugby, Sport Results

Union hosted Cradock High School on Saturday, 18 May for their annual showdown.

It turned out to be an enjoyable morning for all the Union supporters who turned up to watch the encounter, as the rugby teams managed to record several successes: the u/14As won 33 – 7, the u/15Bs lost 5 – 36, the u/15As won 26 – 15, the u/16As won 46 – 12 , the 2nd XV won 37 – 7 and the 1st XV won 33 – 15.

Judging by the entertaining brand of rugby spectators were treated to all morning, the first team match was set to be a good one. The game started with Cradock scoring a try in the first eight minutes, due to some ill-discipline by Union at the breakdown.  The ‘Mighty Whites’ soon lifted their intensity levels and bounced back with a good lineout maul, resulting in Zusakhe Ngwane diving over to get Union onto the scoreboard.

Brett Amsterdam converted to make the score stand at 7 – 5 in Union’s favour.  Keeping possession by setting up phases and good execution, saw Gary Shell cross over for Union’s second try. Brett converted once again, taking Union’s tally to 14.  Union kept the pressure on and ran fiercely at Cradock – their defences were breached once again as Ashton Dawids dotted down under the poles. Brett converted and Union went into half time 21 – 5 up.

The second half was closely contested for the first 20 minutes.  The ‘Mighty Whites’, however, then shifted their play up a gear and got the structures back into place.  Brilliant interplay between backs and forwards saw Ashton Davids score an amazing team try. Brett converted to increase Union’s lead to 28-5.

A lapse in concentration led to a Cradock try on the blind side. The score now stood at 28 – 10 to UHS.

Union then piled on the pressure, sucked in defenders and exploited the space wonderfully as Bladen Jacobs scored in the corner. The conversion was unsuccessful and the score then stood at 33 – 10 in Union’s favour.

Cradock scored a third try due to Union not shifting quick enough on defence. The conversion was missed and the final score was 33 – 15 in Union’s favour.

Union’s try scorers were Zusakhe Ngwane, Gary Shell, Ashton Dawids (2) and Bladen Jacobs.  Brett Amsterdam successfully converted 4 from 5.

Thanks are extended to all the supporters for the tremendous encouragement extended to the players from the sidelines.

Rugby, Sport Results