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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
In an encounter against Pearson High School on Saturday, 20 July, Union High School’s 1st hockey team centre-half, Chelsea Theron claimed her 50th cap for the school’s 1st hockey team.
In a pre-match ceremony before today’s fixture against Framesby, she received a small gift in recognition of this achievement, from Headmaster Mr. William Pringle and team captain Jenna McNaughton
This talented young hockey player has been representing the first team since she was in Grade 9.
Union thanks her for her hard work and dedication and congratulates her on this special achievement!
The hockey matches were fast and fierce against Framesby on Friday afternoon, 26 July 2019.
As part of the top 8 schools in the Eastern Cape, this was a “must-win” for union’s 1st team girls in order to ensure an upward movement on the overall log as the 2019 season nears the end. The girls started off by setting the pace for the match with an early goal in the second minute by Leatitia Theron.
This was followed by a feisty goal from Henzé Jaftha and a third by the captain, Jenna McNaughton, in the second quarter. This took the girls to a comfortable 3 – 0 lead at half time. The third quarter enabled Henzé to shine again with two quick masterpieces, racking up her hat-trick for the match.
The final quarter allowed the girls to cement their lead even more with two goals from Micela Loock, resulting in a 7 – 0 victory.
The girls worked hard to maintain consistency throughout the match, capitalising on opportunities presented and keeping their work rate up for the entire match.
“This is a great start to a tough end of the season which is coming up for the girls, I look forward to seeing the hard work put in this season pay off on a high note against Alex, DSG, and Volkskool,” said coach Alvin August.
In other results against Framesby, Union’s 16B team beat Framesby 1 – 0, the u/16As also won 2 – 0, the 3dr team won 5 – 0 and the 2nd team won 3 – 0.
RUGBY
In Saturday’s rugby matches against Winterberg Agricultural High School in Fort Beaufort, the u/14A team lost 12 – 19, the u/15A team lost 12 – 14, the u/16A team won 36 – 14, the second team won 7 – 5 and the 1st team lost 14 – 31.
HOCKEY
Special mention must also be made off the girls who represented the school against Winterberg this past weekend – most playing against one team higher than their own ranking. The girls were successful and flew the Union flag high, with the 2nd team beating Winterberg’s 1st team 4 – 0 and the u/16B team beating Winterberg’s 2nd team 6 – 0.
The junior rugby and hockey teams faced Clarendon Park Primary School on home ground this past Saturday morning, 27 July.
RUGBY RESULTS
The u/11B team lost 5 – 33, the u/11A team lost 5 – 20 and the u/13B team lost 5 – 17.
In the last match of the day, the u/13A boys worked hard to put their opposition under pressure in challenging conditions. The first half was closely contested, but Union cemented their dominance in the second half to secure a 29 – 7 win over Clarendon Park.
HOCKEY RESULTS
A polished Clarendon side made a confident start against our 1st team and slotted home their first goal after only 5 minutes. This galvanized our girls into action and they soon regrouped and began to fight back. Shortly before the end of the first half, Union were finally rewarded for their efforts when Caytah-Leigh Koeberg and Leshay Fourie combined successfully to pop a sneaky goal past the keeper.
The second half delivered more fast-paced, exciting hockey and Clarendon again managed to score at the beginning of the half to put them one goal ahead. They continued to put pressure on our girls with many attempts at goal, but the Union girls worked hard to deny them. As the game drew to a close, Soso Mroro made one of her trade-mark break-aways, and the spectators held their breath as she stormed towards the goalbox with seconds to spare. An unfortunate foot fault at the crucial moment denied her the opportunity to equalize and the match ended with a 2 – 1 loss for Union.
2nd team lost 0 – 4
3rds vs u/11A lost 0 – 2