Anne Beagley Junior Rugby & Hockey Festival – Results

As we come to the end of this year’s ๐—”๐—ป๐—ป๐—ฒ ๐—•๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—ด๐—น๐—ฒ๐˜† ๐—๐˜‚๐—ป๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ฟ ๐—ฅ๐˜‚๐—ด๐—ฏ๐˜† & ๐—›๐—ผ๐—ฐ๐—ธ๐—ฒ๐˜† ๐—™๐—ฒ๐˜€๐˜๐—ถ๐˜ƒ๐—ฎ๐—น, we’d like to pause for a moment to acknowledge the invaluable support of our festival’s anchor sponsor, Astron Energy Eastern Cape, together with our local fuel sponsors, Astron Energy Graaff-Reinet (Astron Energy College Motors), represented by Stephan and Jeanri de Souza, and Astron Energy Bothas Market Square (Bothaโ€™s Garage), represented by Johan and Michaela Smit.

๐˜›๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ช๐˜ณ ๐˜จ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜ด ๐˜ฑ๐˜ข๐˜ณ๐˜ต๐˜ฏ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ด๐˜ฉ๐˜ช๐˜ฑ ๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ด ๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ญ๐˜ฑ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ฎ๐˜ข๐˜ฌ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ช๐˜ด ๐˜ด๐˜ฑ๐˜ฆ๐˜ค๐˜ช๐˜ข๐˜ญ ๐˜ธ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฌ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ฑ๐˜ฐ๐˜ด๐˜ด๐˜ช๐˜ฃ๐˜ญ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ธ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ข๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ด๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜ค๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ๐˜ญ๐˜บ ๐˜จ๐˜ณ๐˜ข๐˜ต๐˜ฆ๐˜ง๐˜ถ๐˜ญ ๐˜ง๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ช๐˜ณ ๐˜ค๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ๐˜ต๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜ถ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ด๐˜ถ๐˜ฑ๐˜ฑ๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ๐˜ต ๐˜ฐ๐˜ง ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜ณ ๐˜ญ๐˜ฆ๐˜ข๐˜ณ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ด, ๐˜ด๐˜ค๐˜ฉ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฐ๐˜ญ๐˜ด ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ง๐˜ฆ๐˜ด๐˜ต๐˜ช๐˜ท๐˜ข๐˜ญ.

Every year, when the final whistle has blown and the fields begin to quieten, we’re reminded that the ๐—”๐—ป๐—ป๐—ฒ ๐—•๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—ด๐—น๐—ฒ๐˜† ๐—๐˜‚๐—ป๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ฟ ๐—ฅ๐˜‚๐—ด๐—ฏ๐˜† & ๐—›๐—ผ๐—ฐ๐—ธ๐—ฒ๐˜† ๐—™๐—ฒ๐˜€๐˜๐—ถ๐˜ƒ๐—ฎ๐—น has never been only about rugby and hockey.

๐˜ž๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ต ๐˜ธ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ต๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ๐˜ข๐˜ด๐˜ถ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฐ๐˜ด๐˜ต ๐˜ช๐˜ด ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ด๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ๐˜ด๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฐ๐˜ง ๐˜ค๐˜ฐ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฎ๐˜ถ๐˜ฏ๐˜ช๐˜ต๐˜บ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ต ๐˜จ๐˜ณ๐˜ฐ๐˜ธ๐˜ด ๐˜ด๐˜ฐ ๐˜ฏ๐˜ข๐˜ต๐˜ถ๐˜ณ๐˜ข๐˜ญ๐˜ญ๐˜บ ๐˜ฐ๐˜ท๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ค๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜ณ๐˜ด๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฐ๐˜ง ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ธ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฌ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ.

For a few short days, our boarding houses become home to visiting teams, meals are shared around the same tables, conversations about the day’s matches turn into laughter and new friendships and ๐—ฐ๐—ต๐—ถ๐—น๐—ฑ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—ป ๐˜„๐—ต๐—ผ ๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐—ฑ ๐—ฎ๐˜€ ๐˜€๐˜๐—ฟ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ด๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐˜€ ๐—น๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ ๐—ธ๐—ป๐—ผ๐˜„๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐—ณ๐—ฎ๐—ฐ๐—ฒ๐˜€ ๐—ณ๐—ฟ๐—ผ๐—บ ๐˜€๐—ฐ๐—ต๐—ผ๐—ผ๐—น๐˜€ ๐—ฎ๐—ฐ๐—ฟ๐—ผ๐˜€๐˜€ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—ฝ๐—ฟ๐—ผ๐˜ƒ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ฐ๐—ฒ.

Coaches catch up over the festival’s traditional braai and steak evenings, parents give so generously of their time to help host the event and every person who walks onto our campus becomes part of something bigger than themselves. ๐—œ๐˜ ๐—ถ๐˜€ ๐—ถ๐—ป ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ๐˜€๐—ฒ ๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—ฑ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐˜†, ๐˜€๐—ต๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—ฑ ๐—บ๐—ผ๐—บ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜๐˜€ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฎ๐˜ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—น ๐˜€๐—ฝ๐—ถ๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐˜ ๐—ผ๐—ณ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—ณ๐—ฒ๐˜€๐˜๐—ถ๐˜ƒ๐—ฎ๐—น ๐—ถ๐˜€ ๐—ณ๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ป๐—ฑ.

As the messages begin to fill our festival WhatsApp group – one by one letting us know that everyone has arrived home safely – we’re reminded how privileged we are to have shared this weekend with each of you.

๐—ง๐—ต๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ธ ๐˜†๐—ผ๐˜‚ ๐—ณ๐—ผ๐—ฟ ๐˜๐—ฟ๐˜‚๐˜€๐˜๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐˜‚๐˜€ ๐˜„๐—ถ๐˜๐—ต ๐˜†๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ฟ ๐—ฐ๐—ต๐—ถ๐—น๐—ฑ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—ป, for embracing the spirit of the festival and for helping create an atmosphere that is warm, welcoming and genuinely special.

Results

Union High School enjoyed a highly successful Anne Beagley Junior Festival, with outstanding performances across both hockey and rugby.

The U/13A Hockey team had an exceptional tournament, remaining unbeaten in seven matches and recording impressive victories against Cambridge (3-0), Charlo (7-0), DSG (2-0), the Invitational Team (7-0), Cradock (3-0), Stirling (1-0) and Clarendon (8-0), while drawing 1-1 against Sonop.

The U/13B Hockey team showed tremendous commitment and growth throughout the festival. Their results included victories over Crewe (4-1 and 1-0) and Riebeek (3-1), a goalless draw against Gonubie, and competitive matches against Cradock (0-1), Union U/13A (0-5) and Riebeek (1-2). The team improved with every game and displayed excellent determination throughout the tournament.

On the rugby field, the U/13A Rugby team produced some excellent performances, defeating Cambridge 53-0 and Muir 38-5. Their only defeat came against a strong Selborne side, going down 17-5. The festival was a fantastic experience for all involved, showcasing excellent sportsmanship, teamwork and the proud spirit of Union High School. We congratulate all players and coaches on their efforts and achievements throughout the tournament.

Well Done, Keanan!

Union High School, congratulates ๐—ž๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฎ๐—ป ๐—๐—ฎ๐—ณ๐˜๐—ฎ on an outstanding performance while representing the SA Rugby Legends Grant Khomo Iqhawe XV at the 2026 FNB U16 Grant Khomo Week, held at Kearsney College in Durban from 29 June to 3 July.

๐˜›๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜ณ๐˜ฏ๐˜ข๐˜ฎ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ๐˜ต ๐˜ฃ๐˜ณ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ๐˜ด ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ๐˜จ๐˜ฆ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ ๐˜ฎ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜บ ๐˜ฐ๐˜ง ๐˜š๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ ๐˜ˆ๐˜ง๐˜ณ๐˜ช๐˜ค๐˜ข’๐˜ด ๐˜ญ๐˜ฆ๐˜ข๐˜ฅ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ ๐˜œ16 ๐˜ณ๐˜ถ๐˜จ๐˜ฃ๐˜บ ๐˜ฑ๐˜ญ๐˜ข๐˜บ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ด ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜จ๐˜ข๐˜ท๐˜ฆ ๐˜’๐˜ฆ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฑ๐˜ฑ๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ๐˜ต๐˜ถ๐˜ฏ๐˜ช๐˜ต๐˜บ ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ ๐˜ค๐˜ฐ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฑ๐˜ฆ๐˜ต๐˜ฆ ๐˜ข๐˜จ๐˜ข๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜ด๐˜ต ๐˜ด๐˜ต๐˜ณ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ๐˜จ ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฑ๐˜ฑ๐˜ฐ๐˜ด๐˜ช๐˜ต๐˜ช๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ ๐˜ง๐˜ณ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฎ ๐˜ข๐˜ค๐˜ณ๐˜ฐ๐˜ด๐˜ด ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ค๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜ฏ๐˜ต๐˜ณ๐˜บ.

The Iqhawe XV opened the tournament with a commanding 68-8 victory over Border Country Districts, scoring ten tries.

They followed that with a 24-22 win over the Griffons, where Keanan was named ๐— ๐—ฎ๐—ป ๐—ผ๐—ณ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐— ๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ฐ๐—ต.

Playing at flyhalf, he kicked three goals, including the penalty that secured victory in the closing moments. The Iqhawe XV had trailed 22-14 before fighting their way back, with a late try setting up Keanan’s match-winning kick.

They finished the week with a 23-20 victory over Namibia, completing an unbeaten tournament with three wins from three matches.

Being selected for the SA Rugby Legends Grant Khomo Iqhawe XV is recognition of a player’s potential. Being named Man of the Match at one of South Africa’s premier schoolboy rugby tournaments reflects the quality of Keanan’s performance when it mattered most.

๐˜’๐˜ฆ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ’๐˜ด ๐˜ข๐˜ค๐˜ฉ๐˜ช๐˜ฆ๐˜ท๐˜ฆ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ๐˜ต๐˜ด ๐˜ข๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ข ๐˜ด๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜ณ๐˜ค๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฐ๐˜ง ๐˜ฑ๐˜ณ๐˜ช๐˜ฅ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ง๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ ๐˜œ๐˜ฏ๐˜ช๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ ๐˜๐˜ช๐˜จ๐˜ฉ ๐˜š๐˜ค๐˜ฉ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฐ๐˜ญ ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ธ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ค๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ๐˜จ๐˜ณ๐˜ข๐˜ต๐˜ถ๐˜ญ๐˜ข๐˜ต๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฉ๐˜ช๐˜ฎ ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฑ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ๐˜ด๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ๐˜ต๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ ๐˜ฉ๐˜ช๐˜ด ๐˜ด๐˜ค๐˜ฉ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฐ๐˜ญ, ๐˜ฉ๐˜ช๐˜ด ๐˜ฑ๐˜ณ๐˜ฐ๐˜ท๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜ค๐˜ฆ ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜๐˜ฒ๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ธ๐˜ฆ ๐˜Ÿ๐˜ ๐˜ธ๐˜ช๐˜ต๐˜ฉ ๐˜ด๐˜ฌ๐˜ช๐˜ญ๐˜ญ ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ฎ๐˜ข๐˜ต๐˜ถ๐˜ณ๐˜ช๐˜ต๐˜บ.

Junior Hockey – Nika Coertzen Hockey Festival

๐—ข๐˜‚๐—ฟ ๐˜†๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ป๐—ด ๐—จ๐—ป๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป๐—ถ๐˜๐—ฒ๐˜€ ๐—ต๐—ฎ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ ๐—ฎ๐—น๐˜„๐—ฎ๐˜†๐˜€ ๐—ฏ๐—ฒ๐—ฒ๐—ป ๐—ธ๐—ป๐—ผ๐˜„๐—ป ๐—ณ๐—ผ๐—ฟ ๐—ฝ๐˜‚๐—ป๐—ฐ๐—ต๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐—ฎ๐—ฏ๐—ผ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ๐—ถ๐—ฟ ๐˜„๐—ฒ๐—ถ๐—ด๐—ต๐˜ and this weekend our U13A hockey girls once again proved exactly what that means.

Competing at the ๐Ÿฎ๐Ÿฌ๐Ÿฎ๐Ÿฒ ๐—ก๐—ถ๐—ธ๐—ฎ ๐—–๐—ผ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐˜๐˜‡๐—ฒ๐—ป ๐—›๐—ผ๐—ฐ๐—ธ๐—ฒ๐˜† ๐—™๐—ฒ๐˜€๐˜๐—ถ๐˜ƒ๐—ฎ๐—น, hosted by Eunice Primary School in Bloemfontein, the team emerged as the winners of the Plate Final after producing a remarkable series of performances against strong opposition from across the country.

Along the way, ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ๐˜† ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—ฐ๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—ฑ๐—ฒ๐—ฑ ๐˜€๐—ฒ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐—ป ๐˜ƒ๐—ถ๐—ฐ๐˜๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐—ฒ๐˜€, one draw and just a single narrow defeat, finishing the tournament in outstanding fashion and proudly bringing the Plate title back to Graaff-Reinet.

๐—ช๐—ต๐—ฎ๐˜ ๐—บ๐—ฎ๐—ธ๐—ฒ๐˜€ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ๐—ถ๐—ฟ ๐—ฎ๐—ฐ๐—ต๐—ถ๐—ฒ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐—บ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜ ๐—ฒ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐—ป ๐—บ๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ ๐˜€๐—ฝ๐—ฒ๐—ฐ๐—ถ๐—ฎ๐—น ๐—ถ๐˜€ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—ฐ๐—ฎ๐—น๐—ถ๐—ฏ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ ๐—ผ๐—ณ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—บ๐˜€ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ๐˜† ๐—ณ๐—ฎ๐—ฐ๐—ฒ๐—ฑ.

Of the schools that Union defeated or drew against during the festival, four boast senior first-team programmes currently ranked among the top 20 in South Africa – ๐—ฎ ๐˜๐—ฒ๐˜€๐˜๐—ฎ๐—บ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜ ๐˜๐—ผ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—พ๐˜‚๐—ฎ๐—น๐—ถ๐˜๐˜† ๐—ผ๐—ณ ๐—ต๐—ผ๐—ฐ๐—ธ๐—ฒ๐˜† ๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ฟ ๐—ด๐—ถ๐—ฟ๐—น๐˜€ ๐—ฐ๐—ฎ๐—บ๐—ฒ ๐˜‚๐—ฝ ๐—ฎ๐—ด๐—ฎ๐—ถ๐—ป๐˜€๐˜ and the determination with which they competed.

The tournament began with a hard-fought 1-0 loss to Brescia House School before the girls bounced back with a 1-0 victory over Durban Girlsโ€™ Primary, courtesy of a goal from ๐—ง๐—ฎ๐˜†๐—น๐—ผ๐—ฟ ๐—๐—ฎ๐—ฐ๐—ผ๐—ฏ๐˜€.

A goalless draw followed against Laerskool Garsfontein before Union found their rhythm with a 2-0 win over Truida Kestell Primary, with ๐—ง๐—ฎ๐˜†๐—น๐—ผ๐—ฟ and ๐—Ÿ๐—ถ๐˜€๐—ฎ ๐— ๐—ฐ๐—˜๐˜„๐—ฎ๐—ป finding the back of the net.

Further victories followed against Laerskool Fichardtspark (1-0), St Maryโ€™s School, Waverley (1-0) and Kenmare Primary School (2-0), with ๐—ง๐—ฎ๐˜†๐—น๐—ผ๐—ฟ continuing her excellent goalscoring form and ๐—Ÿ๐—ถ๐˜€๐—ฎ adding another goal to her tally.

The team then defeated DSG, Makhanda, thanks to a goal from ๐—ญ๐—ผ๐—ฒ๐˜† ๐—•๐˜‚๐˜†๐˜€ before rounding off a memorable weekend with another 1-0 victory over St Maryโ€™s, Kloof in the Plate Final, where ๐—ญ๐—ผ๐—ฒ๐˜† once again scored the decisive goal.

Congratulations must go to our goalscorers whose finishing played an important role throughout the festival. ๐—˜๐—พ๐˜‚๐—ฎ๐—น๐—น๐˜† ๐—ฑ๐—ฒ๐˜€๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐˜ƒ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐—ผ๐—ณ ๐—ฝ๐—ฟ๐—ฎ๐—ถ๐˜€๐—ฒ, ๐—ต๐—ผ๐˜„๐—ฒ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ, ๐—ถ๐˜€ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜๐—ถ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ ๐˜€๐—พ๐˜‚๐—ฎ๐—ฑ, whose teamwork and resilience carried them through nine demanding matches.

Special mention must also be made of the players who earned ๐—ฃ๐—Ÿ๐—”๐—ฌ๐—˜๐—ฅ ๐—ข๐—™ ๐—ง๐—›๐—˜ ๐— ๐—”๐—ง๐—–๐—› honours during the tournament: ๐—˜๐—บ๐—บ๐—ฎ ๐—•๐˜‚๐—ฟ๐—ด๐—ฒ๐—ฟ (three matches), ๐—›๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ป๐—ฎ๐—ต ๐˜ƒ๐—ฎ๐—ป ๐—ฑ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ ๐—ช๐—ฎ๐—น๐˜ (two matches), ๐—ง๐—ถ๐˜†๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฎ๐—ต ๐—”๐—ฏ๐—ฎ๐—ฑ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ, ๐—Ÿ๐—ฎ๐˜†๐—น๐—ฎ ๐—ข๐˜๐˜, ๐—–๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐—น๐—ถ๐—ฒ ๐—š๐—ฒ๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—ด๐—ฒ and ๐—–๐—ฎ๐˜†๐—น๐—ฒ๐˜† ๐—•๐—ฟ๐˜‚๐—ป๐—ฒ๐˜๐˜๐—ฒ.

Their individual performances reflected the spirit and determination shown by the entire group.

We are incredibly proud of these young hockey players and their coach. ๐—ช๐—ฒ๐—น๐—น ๐—ฑ๐—ผ๐—ป๐—ฒ, ๐—ด๐—ถ๐—ฟ๐—น๐˜€, ๐—ผ๐—ป ๐—ฎ ๐˜„๐—ผ๐—ป๐—ฑ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ณ๐˜‚๐—น ๐—ฎ๐—ฐ๐—ต๐—ถ๐—ฒ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐—บ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜.

Congratulations to Union High Schoolโ€™s U13A hockey coach, ๐—œ๐—ป๐—ฎ ๐—•๐—ผ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฎ, who was announced as the ๐—–๐—ผ๐—ฎ๐—ฐ๐—ต ๐—ผ๐—ณ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—ง๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ฟ๐—ป๐—ฎ๐—บ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜ at the 2026 Nika Coertzen Hockey Festival, hosted this weekend in Bloemfontein.

This special recognition is a reflection of the time, dedication and care that Ina invests in her players and we could not be prouder of this well-deserved achievement.

Well Done, Benji!

For most people, the rugged mountain trails of the Northern Drakensberg would be daunting enough, but for Union High School Grade 11 learner ๐—•๐—ฒ๐—ป๐—ท๐—ถ ๐—Ÿ๐—ผ๐—ผ๐˜๐˜€, they became the setting for a noteworthy achievement.

Benji recently took part in the ๐—œ๐— ๐—ฃ๐—œ ๐—›๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐—ฑ ๐—˜๐—ป๐—ฑ๐˜‚๐—ฟ๐—ผ, a gruelling three-day off-road motorcycle race regarded as the largest Hard Enduro event in South Africa and the second largest in the world.

Drawing more than 1 200 competitors, the event challenges riders to conquer hundreds of kilometres of unforgiving terrain, including river crossings, rock slabs and steep, technical climbs. Competing in the Iron Category for the very first time, ๐—•๐—ฒ๐—ป๐—ท๐—ถ ๐—ฑ๐—ฒ๐—น๐—ถ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—ฑ ๐—ฎ๐—ป ๐—ถ๐—บ๐—ฝ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐˜€๐˜€๐—ถ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ ๐—ฝ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ณ๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—บ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฐ๐—ฒ, finishing 25th out of a field of 337 riders.

To take on an event of this magnitude requires a lot of skill and perseverance, making Benjiโ€™s result all the more impressive.

๐˜ž๐˜ฆ ๐˜ค๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ๐˜จ๐˜ณ๐˜ข๐˜ต๐˜ถ๐˜ญ๐˜ข๐˜ต๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฉ๐˜ช๐˜ฎ ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ช๐˜ด ๐˜ฆ๐˜น๐˜ค๐˜ฆ๐˜ญ๐˜ญ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ๐˜ต ๐˜ข๐˜ค๐˜ฉ๐˜ช๐˜ฆ๐˜ท๐˜ฆ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ๐˜ต ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ญ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฌ ๐˜ง๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ๐˜ธ๐˜ข๐˜ณ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ ๐˜ง๐˜ฐ๐˜ญ๐˜ญ๐˜ฐ๐˜ธ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ ๐˜ฉ๐˜ช๐˜ด ๐˜ซ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜ณ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฆ๐˜บ ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜บ๐˜ฆ๐˜ข๐˜ณ๐˜ด ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ ๐˜ค๐˜ฐ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฆ.

Rugby vs Graeme College – Results

Rugby Report: Graeme College vs Union High xv

On Saturday, we faced one of the top rugby schools in the Eastern Cape, Graeme College. The final score was 51โ€“10, a tough result that reflects not only the strength of our opponents but also the challenges within our own team.

From the outset, the boys were intimidatedโ€”and understandably so. Fear translated into poor defence and a lack of ball possession. Graeme controlled the game, forcing us to defend for nearly the entire match. While a few players stood out with brave, hard-hitting tackles, too many others played as passengers, relying on teammates to do the work. This mind-set is disheartening, especially given the hours we dedicate each week to addressing problem areas. Rugby, like life, is about choices: choosing discipline, choosing responsibility, choosing to step up when it matters most.

The truth is, rugby is more than just a sport. It teaches lessons about teamwork, discipline, and resilience. You cannot succeed aloneโ€”you need teammates, just as in life you need friends to help you through struggles. It asks whether you can work hard when no one is watching, whether you have pride in your effort, or whether itโ€™s easier to shrug and say, โ€œI donโ€™t care.โ€ These are the values that make schoolboy rugby so important.

We had opportunities to change the game. Twice we intercepted the ball with clear chances to score under the poles. Had we converted, we would have added 14 points and shifted momentum in our favour. Instead, we faltered, lost hope, and performed worse as the match wore on. This is where grit comes inโ€”life will always present moments to prosper, but it is how we seize those opportunities that determines whether we thrive or fail.

Perspective matters. It is easy to complain that life is tough, but there is always someone worse off who still finds joy and positivity. Rugby mirrors this truth: setbacks are inevitable, but growth comes when we accept responsibility, step out of our comfort zones, and refuse to blame others. We did not lose to Graeme College because we cannot win; we lost because we set ourselves up for failure. Until we change our mind-set, results will remain the same.

This defeat must serve as a wake-up call. Rugby is preparing us not just for matches, but for life itself. The question is: when will we learn, and when will we take responsibility?

Other results (UHS scores first):
U/11B: 0 โ€“ 47
U/11A: 15 โ€“ 22
U/13B: 0 โ€“ 52
U/13A: 17 โ€“ 50.
U14: 7 – 38
U15: 6 – 62
U16: 3 – 68
2nd: 12 – 51

Junior Hockey vs DSG – Results

๐—ง๐—›๐—”๐—ก๐—ž ๐—ฌ๐—ข๐—จ to The Diocesan School for Girls for making the trip to Graaff-Reinet this past Saturday for a morning of junior hockey.

Our girls enjoyed valuable game time against quality opposition. The ๐—จ๐Ÿญ๐Ÿญ๐—” side recorded a 4-2 win, while the ๐—จ๐Ÿญ๐Ÿญ๐—• team went down 0-3. The ๐—จ๐Ÿญ๐Ÿฏ๐—– team lost 0-3, the ๐—จ๐Ÿญ๐Ÿฏ๐—• girls played to a 0-0 draw, and the ๐—จ๐Ÿญ๐Ÿฏ๐—” side shared the honours in a 1-1 draw.

๐˜ž๐˜ฆ๐˜ญ๐˜ญ ๐˜ฅ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ ๐˜ข๐˜ญ๐˜ญ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฑ๐˜ญ๐˜ข๐˜บ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ด ๐˜ธ๐˜ฉ๐˜ฐ ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฌ ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ง๐˜ช๐˜ฆ๐˜ญ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฑ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ๐˜ด๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ๐˜ต๐˜ฆ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ช๐˜ณ ๐˜ด๐˜ค๐˜ฉ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฐ๐˜ญ๐˜ด ๐˜ธ๐˜ช๐˜ต๐˜ฉ ๐˜ด๐˜ถ๐˜ค๐˜ฉ ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ถ๐˜ด๐˜ช๐˜ข๐˜ด๐˜ฎ.

Junior Tennis vs DSG – Results

Our ๐—๐—จ๐—ก๐—œ๐—ข๐—ฅ ๐—ง๐—ข๐—ฃ ๐Ÿญ๐Ÿฎ ๐—ง๐—˜๐—ก๐—ก๐—œ๐—ฆ ๐—š๐—œ๐—ฅ๐—Ÿ๐—ฆ took on The Diocesan School for Girls this past Friday afternoon in a series of very competitive and closely contested matches.

๐˜ž๐˜ฉ๐˜ช๐˜ญ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฐ๐˜ท๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ข๐˜ญ๐˜ญ ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ๐˜ด๐˜ถ๐˜ญ๐˜ต๐˜ด ๐˜ฅ๐˜ช๐˜ฅ ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฐ๐˜ต ๐˜จ๐˜ฐ ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜ณ ๐˜ธ๐˜ข๐˜บ, ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ด๐˜ค๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ๐˜ญ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜ฆ๐˜ด ๐˜ต๐˜ฆ๐˜ญ๐˜ญ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ด๐˜ต๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ๐˜บ ๐˜ฐ๐˜ง ๐˜ฅ๐˜ฆ๐˜ต๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ฎ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ฑ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ง๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ๐˜ฎ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ค๐˜ฆ๐˜ด ๐˜ง๐˜ณ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฎ ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜ณ ๐˜จ๐˜ช๐˜ณ๐˜ญ๐˜ด.

Several matches went right down to the wire, with ๐—ง๐—ฎ๐˜†๐—น๐—ผ๐—ฟ ๐—๐—ฎ๐—ฐ๐—ผ๐—ฏ๐˜€, ๐— ๐—ฎ๐—ฑ๐—ถ๐˜€๐—ผ๐—ป ๐—ง๐—ฎ๐—บ, ๐—–๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐—ฎ ๐— ๐˜‚๐—ฟ๐—ฟ๐—ฎ๐˜† and ๐—œ๐˜€๐—ฎ๐—ฏ๐—ฒ๐—น๐—น๐—ฒ ๐—•๐—ฒ๐˜€๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ฟ all involved in nail-biting encounters that were decided by tie-breaks.

๐—Ÿ๐—ถ๐˜€๐—ฎ ๐— ๐—ฐ๐—˜๐˜„๐—ฎ๐—ป and ๐—˜๐—บ๐—ถ๐—น๐˜† ๐— ๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐—ฎ๐—ถ๐˜€ recorded excellent singles victories, while many of the other matches were far closer than the final scores suggest.

Well done to all our players – ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฆ๐˜น๐˜ฑ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ช๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ๐˜ค๐˜ฆ ๐˜จ๐˜ข๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ง๐˜ณ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฎ ๐˜ด๐˜ถ๐˜ค๐˜ฉ ๐˜ค๐˜ฐ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฑ๐˜ฆ๐˜ต๐˜ช๐˜ต๐˜ช๐˜ท๐˜ฆ ๐˜ง๐˜ช๐˜น๐˜ต๐˜ถ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ๐˜ด ๐˜ธ๐˜ช๐˜ญ๐˜ญ ๐˜ถ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜ฃ๐˜ต๐˜ฆ๐˜ฅ๐˜ญ๐˜บ ๐˜ด๐˜ต๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฎ ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ ๐˜จ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ด๐˜ต๐˜ฆ๐˜ข๐˜ฅ ๐˜ง๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ด๐˜ฆ๐˜ข๐˜ด๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ ๐˜ข๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ข๐˜ฅ.

EP Mixed Martial Arts Championships

We are incredibly proud of our talented Mixed Martial Arts athletes who participated at the EP Mixed Martial Arts Championships in Despatch at the end of May.

๐—ข๐˜‚๐—ฟ ๐—น๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐—ป๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐˜€ ๐—ฑ๐—ฒ๐—น๐—ถ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—ฑ ๐—ผ๐˜‚๐˜๐˜€๐˜๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฑ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐—ฝ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ณ๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—บ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฐ๐—ฒ๐˜€ ๐—ฎ๐—ฐ๐—ฟ๐—ผ๐˜€๐˜€ ๐—ฎ ๐˜ƒ๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐—ฒ๐˜๐˜† ๐—ผ๐—ณ ๐—ฑ๐—ถ๐˜€๐—ฐ๐—ถ๐—ฝ๐—น๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ฒ๐˜€, including MMA Light, Grappling, Points Fighting, Continuous Fighting and Combat Weapons, bringing home an impressive collection of gold, silver and bronze medals.

The success does not end there! We are delighted to share that ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ๐˜€๐—ฒ ๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ต๐—น๐—ฒ๐˜๐—ฒ๐˜€ ๐—ต๐—ฎ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ ๐—พ๐˜‚๐—ฎ๐—น๐—ถ๐—ณ๐—ถ๐—ฒ๐—ฑ ๐˜๐—ผ ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—ฝ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐˜€๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜ ๐—˜๐—ฎ๐˜€๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ป ๐—ฃ๐—ฟ๐—ผ๐˜ƒ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ฐ๐—ฒ ๐—ฎ๐˜ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—ก๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป๐—ฎ๐—น ๐—–๐—ต๐—ฎ๐—บ๐—ฝ๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป๐˜€๐—ต๐—ถ๐—ฝ๐˜€, which will take place in Pretoria from 26 June.

We congratulate ๐—ž๐—ฒ๐—บ๐—ฎ๐—ฟ ๐—ž๐—น๐—ฎ๐˜€๐˜€๐—ฒ๐—ป, ๐—๐—ถ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฎ ๐—›๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐—ฑ๐—ถ๐—ฒ๐—ป, ๐—˜๐—น๐—ถ๐˜‡๐—ฎ๐—ฏ๐—ฒ๐˜๐—ต ๐—™๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐—ฒ, ๐—–๐—ต๐—น๐—ผ๐—ฒ ๐—”๐—ป๐—ป๐—ฒ ๐—™๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐—ฒ, ๐—ฆ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—ฑ ๐—–๐—ต๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐˜€๐˜๐—ผ๐—ณ๐—ณ๐—ฒ๐—น๐˜€, ๐— ๐—ฎ๐˜๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ๐˜„ ๐—–๐—ต๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐˜€๐˜๐—ผ๐—ณ๐—ณ๐—ฒ๐—น๐˜€, ๐—๐—ฎ๐—พ๐˜„๐—ฎ๐—ป ๐—”๐—ต๐—บ๐—ฒ๐—ฑ, ๐—Ÿ๐—ถ๐—ฎ๐—บ ๐—ฃ๐—ถ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐—ฎ๐—ฎ๐—ฟ and ๐—š๐—ฟ๐—ฎ๐—ฐ๐—ฒ ๐—ž๐—ถ๐˜๐—ฐ๐—ต๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด on their outstanding achievements and wish them every success as they prepare to compete on the national stage.

๐˜ž๐˜ฆ ๐˜ข๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฑ๐˜ณ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ฐ๐˜ง ๐˜บ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ ๐˜ข๐˜ญ๐˜ญ!

Senior Hockey vs Queenstown Girlsโ€™ High School – Results

Our senior hockey teams welcomed Queenstown Girls’ High School on Saturday for a competitive morning of hockey.

๐—ง๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—ต๐—ถ๐—ด๐—ต๐—น๐—ถ๐—ด๐—ต๐˜ ๐—ผ๐—ณ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—ฑ๐—ฎ๐˜† ๐˜„๐—ฎ๐˜€ ๐—ฎ ๐˜€๐˜‚๐—ฝ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ฏ ๐Ÿฏ-๐Ÿฌ ๐˜ƒ๐—ถ๐—ฐ๐˜๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐˜† ๐—ฏ๐˜† ๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ฟ ๐—ณ๐—ถ๐—ฟ๐˜€๐˜ ๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—บ, who showed great composure and determination against a physical GHS side. The girls stuck to their game plan, worked hard for one another and were rewarded with an excellent team performance. Special mention goes to ๐—›๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—บ๐—ผ๐—ป ๐—ช๐—ผ๐—น๐—ฑ๐—ฒ, ๐—ž๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ฒ๐—น๐˜†๐—ป ๐—ง๐—ฟ๐—ผ๐—น๐—น๐—ถ๐—ฝ, ๐—ž๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐—ถ ๐—ฆ๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ป ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฑ ๐— ๐—ฒ๐—ฐ๐—ผ๐—น๐—ถ ๐—ฉ๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐˜€๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ฟ for their standout contributions.

Other results saw the 2nd team narrowly lose 0-1, the U14 side go down 0-1, the U16A team lose 1-3 and the U16B side lose 1-2.

๐—–๐—ข๐—ก๐—š๐—ฅ๐—”๐—ง๐—จ๐—Ÿ๐—”๐—ง๐—œ๐—ข๐—ก๐—ฆ to our U16C team, who earned ๐˜›๐˜ฆ๐˜ข๐˜ฎ ๐˜ฐ๐˜ง ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜‹๐˜ข๐˜บ honours after showing tremendous resilience to score a late winner and secure a memorable 3-2 victory.

Senior Rugby vs Andrew Rabie – Results

This past weekend, Union Highโ€™s 1st XV took on Andrew Rabie High School. The match ended in a disappointing 36โ€“7 defeat.

Andrew Rabie arrived well-prepared, having studied our previous games, and they executed their set plays with precision. They outperformed us in most areas of the game. The only real strength we showed was in the scrums, where our forwards competed with determination and held their ground.

Unfortunately, beyond the scrum, our performance fell short. We struggled with basic skills:
Too many dropped balls disrupted our attack.
Lineouts were repeatedly lost through errors.
Defenders drifted inside instead of staying on their man, leaving gaps that were exploited.
Penalty kicks failed to find touch, costing us valuable territory.

As individuals failed to carry out their roles, trust within the team broke down, and effort levels dropped. This was the most disappointing aspect of the performance.

The lesson is clear: rugby success depends on discipline, teamwork, and mastering the fundamentals. Catching, passing, defending properly, and smart kicking are non-negotiable. Following instructions and trusting one another will prevent results like this.

While the defeat was heavy, the strength shown in the scrums gives us a foundation to build on. If we recommit to the basics and play as a united team, Union High can bounce back stronger in the matches ahead.

Let us take this setback as a lesson, not a limitation โ€” and use it to fuel improvement and pride in the games to come.

More results:
U14 lost 6-0
U15 lost 3-49
U16 lost 6-38
2nd lost 13-17