Sport Results

Snr Cricket Results vs Brandwag

Union cricketers face Brandwag in annual encounter

UHS 1st XI

On Saturday, 14 September, Union’s 1st XI travelled to the Asante Sana Private Game Reserve to play their annual fixture against Uitenhage’s Brandwag.

Brandwag won the toss and elected to bat first.  Union started well, striking early and building a steady pressure with the ball taking regular wickets.

A lapse in concentration later in the innings, however, resulted in several missed chances. That, and some loose bowling, allowed Brandwag to score 165 in their allotted 40 overs after having stood at only 64 for 6 at drinks.

Union’s best bowlers were Lunga Zantsi (2 for 9 in 6 overs), Brett Amsterdam (2 for 25 in 8 overs) and Trevor Moos (2 for 28 in 8 overs).

Union then went in to bat and got off to a great start.

They continued to stay well ahead of the run rate and a fantastic 53 run partnership between Brett Amsterdam and Bowen Langmead looked to secure the match.

Union then, unfortunately, completely lost their way with the bat – losing 7 wickets for 30 runs – to lose the match by 25 runs in the end.

Union’s best batsmen were Bowen Langmead (52) and Brett Amsterdam (32).

UHS 2nd Team

Union’s 2nd Team also played against Brandwag on Saturday in Uitenhage

Union was the toss and and elected to bat first. They were bowled out for 129 in the 31st over. The team’s batsmen recorded the following: Mihlali Tyanase, 22, Jarrod Naudé, 20, James Pringle,16, with Josh Calitz and Rogen Odendaal each scoring 10 runs in this 35-over match.

Branwag passed Union’s score in the 23rd over, having lost 7 wickets in the process. Union’s best bowlers were Jarrod Naudé (3/16) and Matthew Hesselink (2/23).

Brandwag won the match by 3 wickets.

Sport Results

Jnr Tennis vs Gill and Queen’s College

Union High School will be hosting matches against Queen’s College, Gill College & Niko Brummer

Date: Friday 13 September & Saturday 14 September 2019

Union’s first boys’ junior tennis team competed against Gill Primary and Queen’s College on Friday and Saturday, 13 and 14 September, respectively

The boys recorded excellent results, beating Gill Primary 3 – 0 and Queen’s College 11 – 4.

Congratulations to all the players on their stellar effort!

 

Cricket, Sport Results

Creating The Perfect Pitch

It is a fundamental principle that you cannot play good cricket on poor wickets.

With the rugby season behind us, the cricket season having recently commenced and the much-anticipated Cape Schools Cricket Week on our doorstep, a lot of careful and thoughtful work has gone into the preparation of the cricket pitches as well as the in- and outfields of Union’s Murray and Puttick fields these past months.

As the humble grass on which the season’s matches will be contested plays a critical role in determining the outcome of a match, Union thought it vital that the condition of the school’s turf satisfies players, coaches, spectators and administrators alike this season.

To ensure that everyone’s high expectations are met, Union delved into the depths of horticultural science to engineer the ground carefully to everyone’s satisfaction. This has been particularly difficult owing to the quality of water that has been available for use, with the salt content, in particular, providing the school with headaches.

Thanks to the generous support and immense efforts by numerous individuals, Union is happy to report that all the hard work is bearing fruit and that the turf should be pitch-perfect for Cape Schools Cricket Week, which kicks off on Friday, 20 September at Union.

The run-up to this festival has seen a lot go on behind the scenes at Union to ensure joy is brought to the cricket connoisseur.

The grass and soil were measured and analysed to make sure they are healthy and have the right amount of compaction and moisture.

A lot of attention was also focused on the school’s pitches, which received a complete once over – they were drilled, scarified, the old bully was taken out and fertiliser and top soil added. The pitches were then watered and nurtured back into shape.

All of this would not have been possible without:

• Mr Donald Kingwill (who knows all the intricacies of Union’s pitches) and his crew of groundsmen who have been mowing, cutting, compacting, watering and crushing bully day in and day out.

• Mr Petrus Botha of N1 Construction who has not only made his roller available for the purposes of compacting the pitches, but also very generously helped the school in transporting water to flood the pitches on a weekly basis.

• Mr Derek Light who donated 180 square metres of kikuyu grass to use where needed on the in- and outfields.

• Mr David Stern who assisted in sourcing new bully for the pitches and Mr Campbell Scott of Campbell Scott Machine Hire who made his tipper truck available to the school for the transport thereof.

• Mr John-Allen Biggs who provided invaluable advice and support.

• Mr William Coleman and Mr David Stern who facilitated the testing of the soil which enabled Union to fine-tune the preparation process. Mr Coleman also donated kelp fertiliser and Gyp-Flo.

• Mr Peter Brotherton who supplied fertiliser and manure.

At Union, we firmly believe that good pitches and immaculate fields promote the game and develop good cricketers.

We, therefore, hope that all the hard work and preparation these past couple of months will help our players, as well as those from visiting schools, give their best on the field.

We look forward to the season with much anticipation.

Sport Results

Cricket Coaches Attend Level 2 Coaching Course

Congratulations!

For any cricket coach to deliver a programme or service of value, they need to be properly equipped, not only with the correct techniques for cricket, but also the ‘soft skills’ of coaching and to be brought up to date with the different changes in the game.

At Union we aim to equip our coaches to develop their own skills from where they are at currently and to open their eyes to what is out there for them to use.

We are therefore very pleased to congratulate Mr Raymond Hamilton and Mr Stephen Bezuidenhout who recently attended a Cricket South Africa Level 2 Cricket Coaching course and passed the examination with flying colours!

The course, presented by Mr Christo Esau, Coaching Manager of Eastern Province Cricket, covered all aspects of coaching and various teaching methods, as well as practice organisation and planning.

Sport Results

Hockey Coaches Learn From The Pros

The beauty of hockey is that the game depends on a group effort – which includes the coaching team.

To give Union’s players the full support package necessary to perform at their best, five Union coaches travelled to Potchefstroom on Friday, 6 September, to attend a hockey clinic hosted by the Investec Hockey Academy at North West University.

Headed up by former SA Women’s Hockey legend, Sulette Damons, who also happens to be a proud Old Unionite, this was no ordinary hockey clinic.

The course was kicked off by the highly qualified and experienced Shaun Hulley, who managed the SA women’s team that recently won the 2019 Varsity Cup as well as the team that won the PHL in 2017.

As Shaun believes it is important to share the wealth of knowledge he possesses about hockey, he went into amazing detail about the nature of the game, sharing some very interesting tips and strategies while doing so.

The group then had the privilege of meeting one of the best umpires in the world of hockey – Annelize Rostron.

This was a real treat for Union’s coaches as she proceeded to explain the rules of the game in detail with some uncertain rules and regulations being clarified by her as well.

The third session saw an expert in the field of Sport Science Services share some important information on how to maximize the strength, fitness and general conditioning of athletes.

Step-by-step, she explained the importance of pre-season and in-season training and complemented this with information about which programmes to incorporate into the different preparations throughout the season.

Sulette Damons then concluded the day with a practical training session, where she demonstrated different skills, as well as defensive and attacking drills.

She also touched on some game plan ideas and formation set-ups to assist the coaches in different match situations.

Sport Results

Rugby Coaches Enjoy Informative Course

On Saturday, 7 September, Union High School’s rugby coaches attended a World Rugby Level 1 coaching course.

The course was presented by Mr Anthony Heugh – an experienced World Rugby Coaching Educator that has earned the respect of top coaches across the globe.

Mr Heugh is a former Eastern Province Elephants coach, and served as technical analyst for the SA Women’s team at the World Cup hosted in England in 2010.

Union’s upcoming coaches found the course to be very beneficial, while the school’s more experienced coaches found the course instructor’s guidance on how to thoroughly plan, deliver and review practices and how to put an entire season’s plan to paper, very helpful.

The coaches will complete the Level 2 course in February next year, where after all coaches will be assessed in May to be awarded their World Rugby Level 2 qualification.

Biathlon, Sport Results

Biathlon – Event #2

Union’s biathletes enjoyed great weather in Port Elizabeth on Saturday, 7 September.

Six Union biathletes travelled through to Port Elizabeth on Saturday (7 September) to participate in the 2nd league event for the season. This outing saw us welcoming another 2 newcomers, Mack Rubidge and Elia Railton to the team. Jade Shires and Elia Railton are to be congratulated on a fine start to their season, while some of the boys have certainly left room for improvement.

We eagerly await the announcement of the EP team selections for the upcoming interprovincial event, to see if any of our athletes have managed to qualify on the back of one league event.

I would like to thank all the learners that were on the bus for being so willing and eager to get involved in helping change the tyre on the bus after an unfortunate blowout on the return journey.

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.