Rugby vs Saint Andrew’s School

UHS 1st XV vs St Andrews

On Saturday, 12 March, the 1st XV played against Bloemfontein’s Saint Andrew’s School at home.

After 5 minutes, Union won a free kick at a scrum on the half way line. Quick play by Kwande Mhlabeni saw the ball shifted to Sisipho Arnols who put Alutho Cekiso into space.

Sisipho ran a very good supportive line and received the inside pass back from Alutho to dot down for the 1st try.

Ill-discipline and unnecessary mistakes kept the score 5-0 for about 26 minutes. Sisipho broke the defence from a scrum and carried on scoring a fine try. This was converted by Hlaki Skepe. Union led 12-0 at half time.

A poor start to the second half, saw Saint Andrew’s score their first try after some miscommunication on defence. Hlaki Skepe converted a penalty to take the score to 15 – 7.

Union scored another try from the restart with Sisipho Arnols completing his hat-trick to take the score to 20-7 in our favour. Some terrible defence and perhaps poor decision-making saw Saint Andrew’s run in two quick tries to lead 21-20. Hlaki Skepe converted another penalty kick leading 23-21.

With 5 minutes to go, the Union boys had a chance to score after Sisipho Arnols broke the line once more. The team, however, failed to capitalize on this wonderful opportunity. In turn, Saint Andrew’s breached Union’s defence one more time to snatch it at the end and win the match 26-23.

“Although the loss was heart breaking, the lessons learned from it will be invaluable towards building the team for the season ahead,” said coach, Mr Christopher Felix. “I am proud of the boys, and I believe we can only get better from here onwards. I wish to congratulate our junior teams with some fine results achieved, well done to the players and coaches. Lastly I wish to extend our heartfelt thanks to our super crowd, the team sincerely appreciates the support.”

Union’s U/16A rugby team enjoyed a 30 – 5 𝗩𝗜𝗖𝗧𝗢𝗥𝗬 over Saint Andrew’s School.
𝗪𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝗱𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝗮𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵, 𝗨𝗻𝗶𝗼𝗻’𝘀 𝗝𝗮𝘆𝗱𝗲𝗻 𝗢𝗱𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗮𝗹.
Match summary: Union won the toss and elected to play with the wind in the first half to get an early advantage. This worked in the team’s favour.
Despite the first 22 minutes of the game being riddled with penalties, the score started to climb as the game started to flow.
𝘈𝘭𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘯𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘮 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘸𝘴 𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘱𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘢𝘭.
U/𝟭𝟱𝗔 won their match 22 – 0.  Well done to Issy Ahmed who delivered a stand-out performance.
Well done to our U/14A rugby team who won their match 31 – 0.
The young rugby lads really enjoyed their first big fixture for the season.
Although the boys struggled to find their rhythm at the start of the match, it was a wonderful display of team rugby when they eventually got going.
Fantastic defense and tackling by the Union side meant that the St Andrew’s offense couldn’t break through.
𝗠𝗮𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵 𝗴𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗨𝗻𝗶𝗼𝗻’𝘀 𝗦𝗶𝗯𝗮𝗯𝗮𝗹𝘄𝗲 𝗠𝗯𝘂𝘁𝘆𝗲.
The 𝗨/𝟭𝟯𝗔 team played their first official rugby game of the 2022 season.  The Union team played against the wind in the first half, during which one try was scored against them. The second half went much better and Union managed to score two tries, with a strong defence and solid ball running leading to Union eventually clinching the game 12-10.
𝘞𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘥𝘰𝘯𝘦, 𝘣𝘰𝘺𝘴!
𝗨/𝟭𝟭 𝗯𝗼𝘆𝘀 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘆 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗯𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗹𝗲
On Saturday, 12 March, Union’s u/11A rugby side played their very first match of the season against the boys from Saint Andrew’s School, Bloemfontein.
The game was played on Union’s Murray Field, with the visitors eventually winning 15 – 5.
Jordan Maritz was the try scorer for Union.
The Union boys must be commended, as, not only did they display great team spirit, but a lot of heart and a never-say-die attitude, showing that they have the potential to play great rugby in the years to come.
𝘞𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘥𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘱 𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘮!

Hockey Results: 12 March

This past Saturday, 12 March, Union High School’s 1st hockey team travelled to Gqeberha to participate in an 𝗘𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗹𝘀 weekend.
Our team was drawn with some tough opposition, coming up against Collegiate, Pearson and Brandwag, but this served to bring out the best in the girls, who went on to play very attractive hockey, setting them up for what promises to be an exciting season to come.
• The 𝘂/𝟭𝟰𝘀 participated in the u/14 EP trials held at DSG in Makhanda on Sunday, 13 March.
The girls played in an Invitational Festival Team, so they had to adjust as quickly as possible to new teammates.
Congratulations to Leigh-Ann Murray, Mecoli Vorster and Mischa Newton, who played exceptionally well throughout the day.

Hockey results: 5 & 6 March

2022 Spar Schoolgirls’ Hockey Challenge

This past Sunday, 6 March, saw Union High School’s 1st team hockey girls participate in the annual Spar Schoolgirls’ Hockey Challenge hosted by DSG in Makhanda.

The opening match saw Union take on DSG in what was a heated encounter.  The match started at high speed with DSG putting Union under early pressure, however, they couldn’t find the back of the net.  The Union team showed great determination and stuck to its defensive principles. They created seven counter attack opportunities, but DSG’s goal keeper had a good performance and kept a clean sheet.  The match saw DSG beat Union 1-0.

Union’s next match was against VGHS.  Due to lack of concentration, and underestimating the opposition, Union started the game poorly. With Kendall Krige injured in the first match the girls struggled to adapt to new positions. VGHS pounced on this and scored early in the first half.  Throughout the match Union created a lot of opportunities – 14 short corners and 34 circle entries – but couldn’t score.  VGHS struggled against the pace and skill of the Union player.  The match saw lose 0 – 1 to VGHS.

Union’s final match was against Brandwag.  Based on the previous game’s result, the girls had a point to prove. Union created numerous goal scoring opportunities but could not find the net.  The second half saw the girls focused and determined to win. They were rewarded with 4 great goals.  Union won this encounter 4 – 0.

Well done to Kendal krige for winning the Bravery award and Misha Newton for winning a Spar gift bag.

Captain Chloe Shires and her team must be commended on their performance throughout this tournament.  

Union High School’s u/16B and second team 𝗛𝗢𝗖𝗞𝗘𝗬 girls travelled to Somerset East on Saturday morning, 5 March, to participate in Gill College‘s annual Sports Day.
The day saw the 𝘀𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺 draw 1-all against Victoria Girls’ High School, beat Brandwag’s 2nds 4 – 0 and draw 1-all against Burgersdorp’s first team.
The 𝘂/𝟭𝟲𝗕’𝘀 faced off against Hangklip and Templeton’s first teams, losing them 0-3 and 0-2, respectively.
𝘎𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘦𝘧𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘵, 𝘨𝘪𝘳𝘭𝘴!

Rugby Results: 5 March 2022

UHS 1st XV vs Andrew Rabie: 5 March 2022

On Saturday, 5 March, Union High School’s 1st XV travelled to Somerset East to participate in the Gill College Sports Day.

After two years of Covid, fifteen boys finally played their very first match in the treasured white jersey.

After a slow start to their match against their Andrew Rabie counterparts, Union found their rhythm and produced waves and waves of attack, which they, unfortunatelty, couldn’t convert.

Twenty minutes in, Andrew Rabie scored the first points of the match. This, however, fired the Union boys up and they responded almost immediately with a try through JJ Liebenberg, leaving the halftime score to stand at 5-5.

The Union team enjoyed a much better start to the second half.

They were relentless on attack and resolute in defence. After a brilliant passage of play where captain Sisipho Arnols broke the line, a ruck was set up just outside the 22 of Andrew Rabie. Alutho Cekiso produced a moment of magic, dancing around the defenders, which resulted in a try being scored by Xhamla Magubeni.

Union ran in another two tries through Siya Badiwe and JJ Liebenberg.

Well done to the 1st XV on winning the match 20 – 5.

Union’s u/16A team also participated in the Gill College Sports Day, winning their match against Cradock 8 – 7. Well done, boys!

 

Cricket: U/13A vs Muir College

On Saturday, 5 March, Union’s 𝗨/𝟭𝟯𝗔 𝗖𝗥𝗜𝗖𝗞𝗘𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗦 travelled to Uitenhage to play a match against Muir College.
Union lost the toss and were put in to bat first. 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗞𝗿𝗮𝗮𝗶 and 𝗥𝗶𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗠𝘂𝗿𝗿𝗮𝘆 consolidated the innings after an early wicket, making a partnership of 50 runs.
Union managed to score 122 runs. Union’s best batsmen were 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗞𝗿𝗮𝗮𝗶 (44) and 𝗥𝗶𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗠𝘂𝗿𝗿𝗮𝘆 (39).
Muir then went in to bat and got off to a good start, however, disciplined bowling from the Union side led to a fall of wickets in quick succession. The Muir batsmen were all bowled out for 70 runs.
Union’s best bowlers were 𝗥𝗶𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗠𝘂𝗿𝗿𝗮𝘆 and 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗞𝗿𝗮𝗮𝗶 who each took three wickets.
𝗨𝗻𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘄𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵 𝗯𝘆 𝟱𝟮 𝗿𝘂𝗻𝘀.
𝘞𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘥𝘰𝘯𝘦, 𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴!

Cricket: U/13A vs Gill Primary

On Wednesday afternoon, 2 March, Union’s 𝘂/𝟭𝟯𝗔 𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗸𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 faced their Gill Primary School counterparts in a 20-over encounter on Union’s Puttick Field.
Union lost the toss and bowled first.
Consistent pressure by Union’s bowlers led to a few early wickets and resulted in Gill only managing to score 45 runs for seven wickets in their allotted twenty overs. Union’s best bowler was 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗞𝗿𝗮𝗮𝗶 who took 5 wickets for 6 runs in his 4 overs.
Union then went in to bat. Opening batsmen 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗞𝗿𝗮𝗮𝗶 and 𝗩𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗖𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲 got the team off to a good start with a partnership of 25 runs. Union managed to pass Gill’s score in the 9th over.
Union’s best batsman was 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗞𝗿𝗮𝗮𝗶 with 29 runs not out.
Union won the game by 9 wickets.
𝘞𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘥𝘰𝘯𝘦, 𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴!

Cricket: U/13A vs Cradock

On Tuesday afternoon, 1 March, Union’s u/13A cricket team took the field against a visiting Cradock side in a 𝗧𝟮𝟬 encounter.
Union won the toss and elected to bat first.
After three quick wickets, Union appeared to be in trouble, but a strong partnership from 𝗢𝘄𝗲𝗻 𝗣𝗮𝘅𝘁𝗼𝗻 and 𝗥𝗶𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗠𝘂𝗿𝗿𝗮𝘆 quickly rectified the innings.
Union managed to put a total of 72 runs on the scoreboard in their allotted 20 overs.
Union’s best batsmen on the day, were 𝗝𝗼𝗵𝗻-𝗛𝗲𝗻𝗿𝘆 𝗞𝗶𝗻𝗴 (20) and 𝗢𝘄𝗲𝗻 𝗣𝗮𝘅𝘁𝗼𝗻 (15).
When Cradock went in to bat, Union managed to restrict them to 58 runs. The best Union bowler on the day was 𝗪𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗲𝗻 𝗕𝗮𝗿𝗹𝗼𝘄 who claimed 2 wickets.
Union won the game by 14 runs. 𝗪𝗘𝗟𝗟 𝗗𝗢𝗡𝗘 𝘂/𝟭𝟯𝘀!

Sarah Baartman Athletics Result

Six Union learners, representing the Graaff-Reinet High Schools’ CMC Athletics Team, travelled to Gqeberha on Thursday, 17 February, to compete in the annual Sarah Baartman Athletics Meet for high schools at the Westbourne Oval.
There was an excellent team spirit among the participating athletes and the long day ended with some harmonious singing on the bus on the way back to Graaff-Reinet.
𝗪𝗘𝗟𝗟 𝗗𝗢𝗡𝗘 to Jayden Odendaal who came fourth in the Shot Put event for Boys u/17.
𝗖𝗢𝗡𝗚𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗨𝗟𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡𝗦 to Kyle Liebenberg who claimed the 𝗕𝗥𝗢𝗡𝗭𝗘 medal in the Shot Put event for Boys u/15, Dylan Petitt who won 𝗕𝗥𝗢𝗡𝗭𝗘 in the Open Men’s Discus event and Sisipho Arnols who claimed 𝗕𝗥𝗢𝗡𝗭𝗘 in the Open Men’s Long Jump event and 𝗦𝗜𝗟𝗩𝗘𝗥 in the Open Men’s 100m final.
Sisipho has subsequently been invited to participate in the Eastern Cape Athletics Championships to be held in Gqerberha at the beginning of March. 𝘞𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘥𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘚𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘱𝘩𝘰!
Seen here are medal winners Kyle Liebenberg, Dylan Petitt and Sisipho Arnols.

Swimmers Go The Extra Mile

Eleven Union High School swimmers participated in the 98th annual 𝗥𝗜𝗩𝗘𝗥 𝗠𝗜𝗟𝗘 at the Sundays River Cannonville Slipway this past Sunday morning, 27 February, joining hundreds of other swimmers who competed in this year’s edition of Africa’s oldest open-water swimming event.
The results are as follows:
• 𝗕𝗲𝗻 𝗟𝗲𝗺𝗸𝗲 came 7th in the Boys 13 & Under age group with his time of 22:49 minutes (53rd place overall).
• The 14 to 29 Years age group saw 𝗝𝗝 𝗟𝗶𝗲𝗯𝗲𝗻𝗯𝗲𝗿𝗴 coming in 45th, 𝗠𝗮𝘅 𝗣𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗲 48th and 𝗗𝘆𝗹𝗮𝗻 𝗣𝗲𝘁𝗶𝘁𝘁 51st.
• 𝗠𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗶 𝗩𝗼𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 and 𝗥𝗲𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗰𝗮 𝗖𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗺𝗮𝗻, who both competed in their very first River Mile in the Girls 13 & Under age group, swam very well, with Mecoli coming in 13th with a time of 24:22 minutes and Rebecca coming in 16th with her time of 26:54 minutes.
• The 14 to 29 Years age group saw 𝗛𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗮𝗵 𝗕𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗶𝗻 and 𝗞𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗞𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗲 crossing the finish line together, in what was their very last River Mile for Union. They claimed the 27th and 28th spot, respectively, in the 25th minute. 𝗧𝘆𝗿𝗮 𝗕𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗲𝘆, 𝗕𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲 𝗢𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗳𝘀𝗲𝗻 and 𝗔𝗹𝗲𝘅𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗿𝗮 𝗜𝗺𝗿𝗶𝗲 finished shortly after, coming in 34th, 35th and 36th, respectively.
𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙘𝙝𝙤𝙤𝙡 𝙞𝙨 𝙚𝙭𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙡𝙮 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙙 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙨𝙚 𝙨𝙬𝙞𝙢𝙢𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙞𝙧 𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙞𝙘𝙞𝙥𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣𝙩, 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙨𝙤 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 ‘𝙣𝙚𝙬𝙗𝙞𝙚𝙨’ 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙙. 𝙒𝙚 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙖𝙡𝙨𝙤 𝙜𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙛𝙪𝙡 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙮 𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙨 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙟𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙙 𝙪𝙨 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙙𝙖𝙮.
Of course, a River Mile outing wouldn’t be complete without a visit to the Nanaga Farm Stall, where the learners and accompanying members of staff enjoyed the tasty home-made pies and roosterkoek on offer, before hitting the long road home.

Junior Swimmer Selected To Respresent Karoo

𝗖𝗢𝗡𝗚𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗨𝗟𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡𝗦 to the following Union High School junior swimmers who have been selected to represent the Karoo team at the 𝙄𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙧-𝘿𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙞𝙘𝙩𝙨 𝙂𝙖𝙡𝙖 taking place at Hoër Volkskool on Wednesday, 2 March, where they will compete against schools from the Amatola and Albany districts:
𝗦𝗮𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗵𝗮 𝗚𝗶𝗹𝗳𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗻, 𝗔𝗱𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗮𝗻 𝘃𝗮𝗻 𝗝𝗮𝗮𝗿𝘀𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗱, 𝗞𝗮𝘆𝗹𝗮 𝗡𝗼𝗿𝘃𝗮𝗹, 𝗚𝗲𝗿𝗱𝗮 𝗖𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲, 𝗔𝗹𝘆𝘀𝘀𝗮 𝗧𝗿𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗽, 𝗭𝗼ë 𝗠𝗶𝗹𝗹𝘀, 𝗢𝘄𝗲𝗻 𝗣𝗮𝘅𝘁𝗼𝗻, 𝗧𝗿𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻 𝗛𝘂𝗱𝘀𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗖𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘂𝗺 𝗝𝗮𝗰𝗼𝗯𝘀.