It was lovely to host St Andrew’s Preparatory Schoolโs rugby teams for a morning of good rugby.
There were encouraging results for our U9A (36-7), U11B (10-7) and U13A (29-17) teams, while the U11A (0-48) and U13B (10-38) sides came up against strong opposition.
๐ง๐๐๐ก๐ ๐ฌ๐ข๐จ to St Andrewโs Prep for the enjoyable fixtures and good spirit throughout the day.
This past Saturday saw our rugby boys travel to Bloemfontein en masse for the 15th annual derby day against Saint Andrew’s School, Bloemfontein.
Our teams competed with determination across all age groups, producing some enjoyable encounters on the field.
Results (Union scores first) were: U14: 12-40, U15: 27-19, U16: 17-43, 2nd XV: 22-19, 1st XV: 15-17.
U/11A: Lost 5โ22. The boys showed good effort and determination throughout the match. St. Andrewโs managed to control possession for large periods, but our team kept competing and managed to score a well-worked try. There are encouraging signs, and with continued focus on structure and defence the boys will keep improving.
U/13A: Lost 17โ22. This was a very competitive and closely contested game. The boys played with good intensity and created several scoring opportunities, finishing with three tries. Unfortunately, a few small mistakes at key moments allowed St. Andrewโs to edge ahead, but the team showed great character and fought until the final whistle.
A sincere ๐ง๐๐๐ก๐ ๐ฌ๐ข๐จ to St Andrewโs School for their warm hospitality and for hosting another memorable chapter in this valued derby rivalry
Union High School’s senior rugby teams travelled to Gqeberha today to take on Hoรซrskool DF Malherbe High School in a set of fixtures played in rainy and blustery conditions.
The U14 side recorded a convincing 93-5 win, while the U15s went down 7-19. The U16s faced a strong challenge and lost 3-61, before the 2nd XV secured a solid 14-0 victory.
In the final match of the day, the 1st XV produced a competitive performance but were narrowly beaten 22-19. After conceding two early tries and trailing 10-0, Union showed admirable composure to fight their way back into the game. ๐ง๐๐ผ ๐๐ฒ๐น๐น-๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ธ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฏ๐ผ๐๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ธ๐ฒ ๐ฎ ๐ญ๐ฐ-๐ญ๐ฌ ๐น๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฑ ๐ถ๐ป๐๐ผ ๐ต๐ฎ๐น๐ณ๐๐ถ๐บ๐ฒ, with the forwards beginning to assert their dominance in the scrums.
The second half proved just as competitive, but two yellow cards proved costly and allowed DF Malherbe to edge ahead. True to Union spirit, the team responded with another try to keep the contest alive and with a late penalty opportunity on offer the game hung in the balance. While the final decision did not go their way, ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฏ๐ผ๐๐ ๐น๐ฒ๐ณ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ณ๐ถ๐ฒ๐น๐ฑ ๐๐ถ๐๐ต ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ถ๐ฟ ๐ต๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ ๐ต๐ฒ๐น๐ฑ ๐ต๐ถ๐ด๐ต after a performance filled with a lot of heart. Tries were scored by Yaaseen Kazi, Lulonke Vumazonke and Elvandre Meyer, with Qhama Solomon adding the conversions.
Unionโs ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ซ๐ฉ, meanwhile, produced a superb display of character to secure a well-deserved 14-0 victory in difficult windy and rainy conditions. Forced to make several positional adjustments due to injuries and illness, the team adapted impressively and showed excellent resilience throughout the match.
๐ง๐ต๐ฒ๐ถ๐ฟ ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ณ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ถ๐๐ฒ ๐ฒ๐ณ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ ๐ผ๐๐๐๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ๐ถ๐ป๐ด, holding firm against a determined DF Malherbe side, while the forwards laid a strong foundation in the set pieces. The backline made the most of their opportunities with some sharp attacking play, ensuring Union finished the match in control.
๐๐ฆ๐ญ๐ญ ๐ฅ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฑ๐ญ๐ข๐บ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ด ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ช๐ณ ๐ฆ๐ง๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ๐ต๐ด ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ฅ๐ช๐ง๐ง๐ช๐ค๐ถ๐ญ๐ต ๐ธ๐ฆ๐ข๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ช๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ด.
We would like to extend our ๐๐๐๐ฅ๐ง๐๐๐๐ง ๐ง๐๐๐ก๐๐ฆ to Dr. Bernardt Beukes and the team at Dentists at Health – Graaff-Reinet for generously sponsoring Union High School’s 2026 1st rugby squad with custom-fitted mouthguards.
A ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐น๐ ๐ณ๐ถ๐๐๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐บ๐ผ๐๐๐ต๐ด๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฑ ๐ถ๐ ๐ผ๐ป๐ฒ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐บ๐ผ๐๐ ๐ถ๐บ๐ฝ๐ผ๐ฟ๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ ๐ฝ๐ถ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐ฒ๐พ๐๐ถ๐ฝ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐ฎ ๐ฝ๐น๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ป ๐ต๐ฎ๐๐ฒ, not only for protecting teeth but also in helping to reduce the risk of concussions. The value of this contribution, however, goes beyond the physical protection the mouthguards provide. It gives our boys the confidence to play hard, knowing that their wellbeing is being looked after by a professional team who cares about them.
๐๐ญ๐ฆ๐ข๐ด๐ฆ ๐ฌ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ธ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ ๐จ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ด๐ช๐ต๐บ ๐ช๐ด ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฑ๐ญ๐บ ๐ข๐ฑ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ค๐ช๐ข๐ต๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ฃ๐บ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฃ๐ฐ๐บ๐ด, ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ช๐ณ ๐ง๐ข๐ฎ๐ช๐ญ๐ช๐ฆ๐ด ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต๐ช๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ค๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ญ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ช๐ต๐บ. ๐๐ฆ ๐ข๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ณ๐ถ๐ญ๐บ ๐จ๐ณ๐ข๐ต๐ฆ๐ง๐ถ๐ญ ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ ๐ฑ๐ข๐ณ๐ต๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ด๐ฉ๐ช๐ฑ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฆ๐น๐ข๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ญ๐ฆ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ด๐ฆ๐ต ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ค๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ๐ข๐จ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ช๐ต๐บ ๐ช๐ฏ๐ท๐ฐ๐ญ๐ท๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต ๐ช๐ฏ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ต๐ฉ ๐ด๐ฑ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ต.
A good start to the season for our rugby boys, who took to the field today for their first matches at the annual ๐๐๐๐ ๐ฆ๐ฃ๐ข๐ฅ๐ง๐ฆ ๐๐๐ฌ.
The ๐จ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ opened the day with a solid 26-5 win over Hoรซrskool Kirkwood, followed by the ๐จ๐ญ๐ฒ๐ who secured a steady 17-7 victory against Get Ahead College.
Our ๐ญ๐๐ ๐ซ๐ฉ added to the results with a well-earned 24-15 win over Hoรซrskool Kirkwood.
The ๐จ๐ญ๐ฑ๐ were involved in a closely contested match against Aeroville Secondary School. Despite their determined effort, they narrowly lost 24-27.
๐๐ฆ๐ญ๐ญ ๐ฅ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฆ๐ข๐ฎ๐ด ๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ช๐ณ ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฏ๐ค๐ฆ๐ด. ๐๐ฆ ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฌ ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ๐ธ๐ข๐ณ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ฆ๐ข๐ด๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ข๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฅ
Three of our talented young rugby players – ๐๐บ๐ถ๐๐ต๐ฎ ๐ ๐๐ฎ๐๐ถ, ๐๐๐ฎ๐ธ๐ต๐๐น๐ฎ ๐ก๐ธ๐ผ๐บ๐ผ and ๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฎ๐ป ๐๐ฎ๐ณ๐๐ฎ – proudly represented the ๐๐ฎ๐๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ป ๐ฃ๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ at this yearโs U15 Iqhawe Week, held at Langenhoven Gimnasium in Oudtshoorn from 3 to 8 October.
๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ฃ ๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐บ ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐น๐ถ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ฎ ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฒ๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐ผ๐๐๐๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ๐บ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ๐, securing victories against SWD (19 – 0), Griffons (39 – 7) and Griquas (27 – 7).
๐๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ข๐ฏ ๐ช๐ฏ๐ค๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฅ๐ช๐ฃ๐ญ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ค๐ฉ๐ช๐ฆ๐ท๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ด๐ฆ ๐ฃ๐ฐ๐บ๐ด – ๐ธ๐ฆ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ถ๐ญ๐ฅ๐ฏโ๐ต ๐ฃ๐ฆ ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ณ!
Union High School vs Victoria Park High School โ Saturday, 23 August 2025
Union High Schoolโs 1st XV wrapped up their 2025 rugby season with a commanding 39โ24 victory over Victoria Park High School from Gqeberha on Saturday, 23 August.
The home side got off to a strong start, with Elvandre Meyer opening the scoring through a well-worked try to put Union ahead 5โ0. A brilliant line break from Yaaseen Kazi soon followed, extending the lead to 10โ0.
Yonela Wana impressed with a dynamic run, narrowly missing out on adding to the scoreline after a knock-on just short of the tryline. Union kept the pressure on, however, and a break from Xavier Barlow set up Liso Booi for Unionโs third try, which was successfully converted to make it 17โ0.
Siba Mbutye and Shaakir Kazi both crossed the line before the half-time whistle, giving Union a healthy 29โ5 lead at the break. VP managed to score their first points just before half-time.
The second half began with VP capitalising on a Union error from the kickoff, quickly narrowing the gap with a try to make it 29โ10. Despite a few missed opportunities and disrupted momentum from player substitutions, Union regained control when Elvandre Meyer scored his second try of the match, pushing the lead to 34โ10.
Liso Booi added another try to his tally, extending Union’s advantage to 39โ10. VP, however, showed resilience in the closing stages, scoring two converted tries to reduce the final margin to 39โ24.
This final fixture marked Unionโs 12th win in a 22-game season, capping off a year of hard work, growth, and spirited competition.
Other Match Results:
U14: Union 14 โ 17 Victoria Park
U15: Union 17 โ 14 Victoria Park
U16: Union 48 โ 15 Victoria Park
2nd XV: Union 12 โ 12 Victoria Park
A huge congratulations to Union High School, Graaff-Reinet learners (back) Sbu Jantjies, Grant Murray, Isiphile Galela, (front) Yolo Vutula, Sintayu Kaitro and Uthmaan Steele on their selection to the ๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ผ ๐ฃ๐ฟ๐ถ๐บ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ ๐ฆ๐ฐ๐ต๐ผ๐ผ๐น๐ ๐ฅ๐๐ด๐ฏ๐ ๐ฆ๐๐ฏ-๐จ๐ป๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐/๐ญ๐ฎ ๐ง๐ฒ๐ฎ๐บ!
๐๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฃ๐ฐ๐บ๐ด ๐ธ๐ช๐ญ๐ญ ๐ฃ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ค๐ข๐ด๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ช๐ณ ๐ต๐ข๐ญ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต ๐ข๐ต ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ถ/12 ๐๐ถ๐ฃ-๐๐ฏ๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ๐ฏ๐ข๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต, ๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ด๐ต๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ข๐ต ๐๐ฐรซ๐ณ ๐๐ฐ๐ญ๐ฌ๐ด๐ฌ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ญ ๐ต๐ฐ๐ฅ๐ข๐บ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ธ, 22 ๐ต๐ฐ 23 ๐๐ถ๐จ๐ถ๐ด๐ต.
We are incredibly proud of them and wish them the very best as they take to the field – ๐ฑ๐ญ๐ข๐บ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ณ๐ฅ, ๐ฑ๐ญ๐ข๐บ ๐ง๐ข๐ช๐ณ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ด๐ต ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ, ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ซ๐ฐ๐บ ๐ฆ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ๐บ ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต!
On Saturday, 16 August, Union High Schoolโs 1st XV team faced off against the Hoรซr Volkskool 1st XV in a much-anticipated derby that had the whole town buzzing all season.
Union dominated both territory and possession throughout the first half but struggled to convert their efforts into points, thanks to a resilient defensive display from Volkskool. The only points in the first half came from a penalty kick by Shaakir Kazi. However, a costly mistake in Unionโs in goal area allowed Volkskool to score a try, giving them the lead at halftime.
In the second half, Union maintained control of the ball and territory and were eventually rewarded with a try from Makukhanye de Beer, which Shaakir Kazi successfully converted. Despite this, Volkskool proved clinical, scoring two more tries to extend their lead and secure a 21-10 victory.
It was a hard-fought match, but ultimately Volkskool came out on top in this seasonโs intense rivalry.
Congratulations to ๐๐ฎ๐๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ป ๐ข๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฑ๐ฎ๐ฎ๐น on reaching an incredible milestone – taking the field for Union High School’s 1st XV as tighthead prop for the 50th time this ๐๐ก๐ง๐๐ฅ๐ฆ๐๐๐ข๐ข๐๐ฆ!
Other resultsย
U/11B lost 5-20
U/11A lost 5-38
U/13C lost 26-28
U/13B lost 5-31
U/13A won 14-5
In a tightly contested encounter, Unionโs U/13A side delivered a strong and physical performance to secure a 14โ5 victory. Tries were scored by Lukhona Bulembu and Liyabona Magqabi.
U14 drew 3-3
U15 lost 8-48
U16 won 39-10
2nd won 12-10
U/7B drew 15-15
U/7A won 10-5
U/9B drew 14-12
U/9A lost 7-14
UHS scores first:
U14: 17-17
U15: 28-19
U16: 36-12
2nd: 31-5
1st XV Match Report:
Union High Schoolโs 1st XV delivered a dominant first-half performance to secure a 34-12 victory over York High School from George in their home fixture on Saturday.
Union came out strong, controlling possession for much of the first quarter, although some handling errors allowed York to briefly regain momentum. The breakthrough came when Makukhanye de Beer crossed the line for the opening try, giving Union a 5-0 lead after an unsuccessful conversion. Issy Ahmed followed up with another well-worked try, extending the lead to 12-0.
Union continued to apply pressure on Yorkโs defence, resulting in two more tries before halftime โ Makukhanye de Beer grabbing his second of the match, and Elvandre Meyer adding another. The hosts went into the break with a commanding 24-0 lead.
Facing a strong wind in the second half, Union found conditions more challenging but managed to add to their score through a try by Peter-Daniel Clegg, followed by a superb solo effort from Liam Hornabrook, who broke away from a lineout maul to score.
Despite several promising opportunities, Union struggled to convert pressure into further points due to injuries disrupting the teamโs rhythm. York capitalised and managed to score two tries of their own, but it wasnโt enough to close the gap.
The match ended with Union securing a well-earned 34-12 victory, showcasing strong teamwork, individual brilliance, and a solid first-half performance.