Sport Results

Snr Cricket Results – Pearson Cricket Festival

On Thursday morning, 29 August, Union’s 1st XIs embarked on an exciting cricket tour to Port Elizabeth to attend Pearson High School’s annual Home & Equity Cricket Festival.This proved to be an amazing tour for the young Union side as they played excellent cricket, producing some wonderful results while doing so.

Over the course of the four days, Union managed to win 2 out of their 4 fixtures.

Despite their losses, they showcased outstanding cricket skills, with some of the cricketers racking up very impressive individual results. The four 50’s and one 5-wicket haul recorded, bears testament to the quality cricket that the boys played throughout the weekend.  To top it all off, their efforts on the field were backed up by a tremendously positive team spirit and a ‘never say die’ attitude.

An individual performance of note, was that of James Pienaar. James took 8 wickets and scored 40 runs in the declaration match against Marlow, earning him the festival’s all-rounder award.

The respective results for the four matches played during the festival, are as follows:

• In the team’s first match at the festival, Thursday’s T20 against Muir College, Muir batted first and scored 152 for 6.
Union’s best bowlers were Matthew Hesslink (2 for 30), Brett Amsterdam (2 for 32) and Jaden Brotherton (2 for 24).
Union then went in to bat and managed to score 129 for 2 in the 20 overs. Union’s best batsmen were Kyle-Luke du Preez (67 not out) and Brett Amsterdam (33 not out).
Union lost by 23 runs
Kyle-Luke du Preez was voted man of the match.

• In Friday’s declaration match against Marlow Agricultural High School, Union batted first and scored 251 for 7.
The best batsmen were Jaden Brotherton (82), Brett Amsterdam (45) and James Pienaar (40).
Union then managed to bowl Marlow out for 79.
The best bowlers were James Pienaar (5 for 11) and Brett Amsterdam (4 for 29).
Union then proceeded with their second innings, scoring 50 for 2 before declaring and sending Marlow in to bat needing to take 5 wickets for an outright win.
Marlow went in to bat and lost their five wickets for 25 runs.
Union’s best bowlers were James Pienaar (3 for 19) and Lihle Mxhunyelwa (2 for 5).
Union won the match by 197 runs.
James Pienaar was voted man of the match.

• Saturday’s 50-over match against Westering High School saw Westering batting first and scoring 155 for 8.
Union’s best bowler was Jaden Brotherton (3 for 24).
Union then went in to bat and passed the score with 4 wickets down.
The best batsmen were Kyle-Luke du Preez (52), Jaden Brotherton (29), Khwezi Simon (23) and Brett Amsterdam (20).
Union won the match by 6 wickets.
Kyle-Luke du Preez was voted man of the match.

• In Union’s last match of the festival, Sunday’s 50-over match against Graeme College, Graeme batted first and scored 307 for 5.
Brett Amsterdam, Rogan Odendaal and Lihle Mxhunyelwa each took one wicket.
Union then went in to bat and scored 145 all out.
Jaden Brotherton (67) was Union’s best batsmen.
Union lost the match by 162 runs.
Jaden Brotherton was voted man of the match.

Biathlon, Sport Results

Biathlon – Event #1

Only three Union biathletes made the journey to Port Elizabeth to compete in the 1st league event of the 2019/2020 season. Despite the very cold and blustery conditions, newcomers to the sport, Mecoli Vorster and Luc Railton competed for the first time and acquitted themselves well, while Brigette Oelofsen was sadly unable to complete the run due to a recurring knee injury. All three competitors did surprisingly well in the swim portion of the event, despite the long layoff over the winter season. They are looking forward to improving both their swim and run times in the next league event which is to be held this coming weekend.

Rugby, Sport Results

Sevens Rugby

Ask any rugby fan the most exhilarating way to play and watch the game, they’re likely to answer: Sevens rugby.

As the curtain starts to close on the official schools rugby programme for the season, a unique blend of 20 schools brought their u/17 rugby talent together at Framesby High School in Port Elizabeth on Friday and Saturday, 23 and 24 August, for the school’s second annual Langerry u/17 Sevens Rugby Tournament.

Among those were twelve Union players, coached by Mr. Hanno Sparrius and Mr. Christopher Felix, who set off early Friday morning to participate in this tournament.

Over the course of the tournament, Union came up against some tough opposition, but the boys gave it their all and managed two out of six victories, most notably coming from behind to beat John Walton 21 – 19 in an entertaining fixture.

In other results, Union won against Otto du Plessis 21 – 10, lost against Framesby 50 – 0, won against John Walton 21 – 19, lost against Pearson 43 – 7 and lost against Volkskool 35 – 24 (in the Bowl quarter final).

This was an enjoyable tournament, with many positives taken and lessons learnt about this wonderful game.

Union commends the team on their great sportsmanship and being fine ambassadors for the school.

Sport Results, Tennis

Snr Tennis – Marco Wasserman Tournament

Union High School’s Top 8 boys’ and girls’ tennis players took part in the annual Marco Wasserman tennis tournament, played in Middelburg this past weekend.

Over the course of the two days, the players competed in a Round Robin doubles and mixed doubles format against six other schools.  Despite strong competition, the Union learners acquitted themselves very well, playing excellent tennis and coming away from the experience with plenty of lessons learnt.  Having lost 10 matric players, the team is entering a building phase, but the newcomers to the team definitely showcased their potential during the tournament.

While the Top 4 boys and girls played tenaciously, they were mostly outplayed in the A section which was won convincingly by Pearson High School.

The second team ended in a very admirable 3rd place in the B section, which was this year won by Aliwal North High School.

As always, the players made the school very proud with their impeccable behaviour and a special word of congratulations is extended to Bowen Langmead, who won an award for his excellent manners on and off the court, Brent Hesselink who received an award for his determination, Sara Kingwill who won the award for the player with the most potential and Chloe Shires who received an award for sportsmanship.

Sport Results, Tennis

Snr Tennis vs Cradock

On Monday afternoon, 19 August, Union High School’s Top 6 girls and boys tennis players battled it out on the courts against Cradock High School.

The boys beat Cradock convincingly with 9 matches to 0.

The girls, who played some very competitive sets against a strong Cradock side, also managed to claim victory with 5 games to Cradock’s 4.

Sport Results

Interschools Results

Union Schools and Volkskool have been neighbours, friends and rivals for almost 100 years and, irrespective of the outcome, this annual encounter always fosters an intense school pride while evoking a lot of emotion and excitement.

This year was no exception.

Although Union enjoyed a golden three years as victors of Interschools from 2016 to 2018, Union had to bend the knee to Volkskool this year, whose 1st rugby team won the encounter with 22 points to Union’s 3 points.

Congratulations to Volkskool on a good performance.

Well done to both hockey teams and their respective coaches! You put up a fierce fight!

The end score of the 1st hockey team’s match was 1 – 1.

Interschools Results 2019 final 1
Hockey, Sport Results

100 Caps For Henzé

On Saturday, 10 August, Henzé Jaftha played her 100th game for the Union High School 1st hockey team.

To mark the occasion, Union’s Headmaster Mr. William Pringle presented her with a certificate prior to the start of the game against Volkskool.

The number of games she has played is an incredible achievement, the number of goals scored and saved is remarkable, but the way in which she has played the game is an example of grit and determination along with integrity and great sportsmanship, which is the most impressive of all.

We salute you, Henzé and a big thank you for all that you have contributed to the sport of hockey at Union.

Hockey, Sport Results

Snr Hockey Results vs Alex & DSG

Union’s 1st team ends 6th in Top 8 challenge

On Friday, 2 August, and Saturday, 3 August, Union’s 1st team hockey girls travelled to Port Elizabeth and Gahamstown, respectively, to complete their round of Top 8 matches.

The girls took to the turf against Alexander Road High School on Friday, after a solid two performances against Framesby and Pearson in previous weeks.

The girls set the pace from the beginning by scoring a quick two goals within the first five minutes.  This was a great start and a strong message sent to the opposition that the Union girls had arrived to compete.  Goals were scored by Jenna McNaughton and Henzé Jaftha in the first half.

After a re-set at half time, it was Micela Loock’s turn to put two more goals in the Alex box to put the girls 4 – 0 up.  A lapse in concentration during the last quarter resulted in Alex putting two goals past Union’s defenders with the final result being 4 – 2 in Union’s favour.

The team then travelled to Grahamstown for the ultimate challenge – DSG on their home turf.

The girls knew they were in for a tough match, but none of them could have anticipated the intense battle they were about to enter into.  With an absolute star performance from Sakhe Booi, the team faced countless attacks from the strong DSG forwards.  Stirling teamwork and an immense effort from the entire team resulted in the half time score being kept to 0 – 0.

During the second half, the girls were presented with scoring opportunities created by Henzé Jaftha which were unfortunately kept out of the box by the DSG goalkeeper.  This game definitely proved to be an equally-matched rivalry and although the end result reflected a 0-all draw, it was an absolute win for the school and the team.

The weekend’s scores resulted in the girls finishing 6th overall in the top 8 challenge in the Eastern Cape, a result they can be very proud of.

DSG went on to play in the final against Woodridge on the Sunday, to which they lost 2 – 0 to finish second.

“This proves that, with confidence, a desire to compete and win as well as a positive attitude, great results can be achieved,” said coach Alvin August. “Let’s carry this momentum through to the season’s final challenge this weekend when we take on Volkskool – nothing short of a victory is anticipated.”

The other matches against DSG saw the third team lose 0 – 5 against DSG’s u/15C team, the u/16B team lose 0 – 5 against their u/14As, the u/16A team draw 0-all against their u/16Bs and the 2nd team lose 1 – 9 against their u/16As

Hockey, Rugby, Sport Results

Jnr Sport Results vs Herbert Hurd

Junior rugby vs Herbert Hurd 2nd of August: At home.

Union’s junior rugby teams played against Herbert Hurd Primary School on home ground today.

This past Saturday, 3 August, Union’s u/13A rugby team played against Port Elizabeth’s Herbert Hurd Primary School, in what proved to be one of the most physical encounters of the season.  Both teams took no time to settle in as fantastic conditions allowed for a flowing game of rugby.  Union managed to apply early scoreboard pressure with a well executed backline move led by Alutha Wesi.  Herbert Hurd did well to slow the game down in the second half, but it was too little to late with Union winning the encounter 22 – 5.

The other matches, saw Union’s u/11B team losing 0 – 44, the u/11A team losing 10 – 15 and the u/13B team losing 7 – 43.

Junior hockey vs Herbert Hurd 2nd of August: At home.

3rds vs 3rds: 1-1 (draw)

2nds vs 2nds: 2 -1 (win)

1sts vs 1sts: 1- 0 (win) 

First team match report:

After suffering a 6-1 defeat against this school last year, the girls were somewhat nervous when taking to the field this weekend. This time the match was much more evenly contested, with possession changing constantly throughout the game. Although the girls managed to leave the field victorious after a soft goal from Soso Mroro, the match was rather disjointed and disappointing. It was a physical contest with both teams consistently breaking down play, and neither team managing to produce an impressive response. The girls are going to need to work a lot harder in the final game of the season should they wish to be successful against our inter-schools rivals.

Second team match report:

After a disappointing match last weekend the second juniors really stepped up to the plate and gave their best performance to date this year. They played tenacious, entertaining hockey that kept their opponents on their toes. They passed well between each other and worked beautifully together as a team. If they play like this in their inter-schools encounter, they will have every chance of success.

The goal scorers were Aaminah Steele and Tara Fererra.

 

 

Shooting, Sport Results

Learners Take Aim

On Friday, 26 July, 11 Union High School learners made history when they competed – for the very first time – alongside Marlow Agricultural High School and Hoër Volkskool in an inter-school shooting competition.

The competition was held at the Koedoeskloof Outdoor Shooting Range in Uitenhage and was a great success for the Union learners.  Although the wind was howling, the learners still managed to record great results.

In the Air Rifle Open Sight competition, Tammy James claimed a second place with a score of 13/20.  Michaela Price came in third with a score of 11/20.  Jordan Hall and Schea Johnson also recorded good results.

In the Air Sport Pistol category, Kelly-Page Scott came second among the girls and Angus McGlaggen first among the boys.

“I am so very proud of these learners, not only for their excellent performance in challenging conditions but for flying the Union flag so high during this momentous event,” said coach Christelle van Eck.