Hockey, Sport Results

Jnr Hockey Results vs VP & Gill

The UHS junior hockey teams faced both Victoria Primary and Gill Primary on Union High School’s AstroTurf today, Saturday, 8 June.

In their matches against Victoria Primary, the 4th juniors lost 0 – 2, the 3rd juniors won 1 – 0, the 2nd juniors drew 0 – 0 and the 1st juniors won 2 – 0.

In the Gill encounters, the 2nd juniors lost 0 – 1 and the 1st juniors won 1 – 0.

The 1st Juniors played entertaining hockey in this home fixture against Victoria Park Primary and came away with a deserving 2 – 0 victory. Our girls played superior hockey throughout and maintained possession for a large percentage of the game. Some beautiful individual and team efforts made this a thrilling game to watch and both goals scored were as a result of some excellent team work. Well done to Soso Mroro who worked hard to set up both goals, and to Lisakhanya Menos and Leshay Fourie who were perfectly positioned to capitalise on these goal opportunities. Special mention must go to Alinda Goosen and Tyra Binney who both worked hard and controlled the game beautifully from the back and set up some great plays.

In the match against Gill the team maintained their momentum and again thoroughly dominated the game and were unfortunate to only win by one goal to nil. The girls are now displaying a maturity and work-ethic in their hockey that has thus far been lacking. They can be proud of their efforts over the last two weeks and I hope that they continue to grow over the rest of the season.

Rugby, Sport Results

Snr Rugby Results vs Graeme College

Graeme College proved to be formidable opponents on the rugby field on Saturday, 8 June.

The visiting teams ended the encounter against Union’s rugby teams unbeaten, winning the matches between the u/14As 51 – 0, the u/15Bs 71 – 3, the u/15As 24 – 19, the u/16As 34 – 7, the second teams 24 – 5 and the 1st XVs 69 – 3.

While the results might not have been what the Union teams were hoping for today, it’s often been said that you learn more from losing than you do from winning.

This was indeed a valuable learning opportunity for the Union teams who, after a well-deserved break this school holidays, will kick off their 3rd term fixtures motivated and better prepared because of it

Sport Results

Accolade for Union Cricketer

The annual Eastern Province Cricket awards ceremony, which honours players, volunteers, officials, clubs and schools across the pro…vince, saw the talent of one of Union’s ace cricketers showcased.

Bowen Langmead, who was nominated in the category, ‘Best Inland Cricketer’ walked away as the category’s winner at the ceremony held on Friday evening, 10 May.

Sport Results

EPRU Rural U/19A

Brett Amsterdam, a promising young sportsman from Union High School, has been in fine form this rugby season. So much so, that he was recently selected for the EPRU’s 2019 Rural u/19A rugby team.

Brett will represent the team at a tournament during the June/July school holidays.

Congratulations Brett!

Sport Results

Jnr Hockey Results vs Collegiate

Junior Hockey vs Collegiate – Saturday, 1 June 2019

5th Team lost 0 – 3

4th Team lost 0 – 4

3rd Team lost 1 – 5

2ND Team lost 0 – 3

1st Team lost 1 – 7

1st JUNIORS

After a hard week of preparation in anticipation for this encounter, our junior hockey girls travelled to Port Elizabeth this weekend to take on a very polished Collegiate side. Although the score-line was disappointing, the same cannot be said for the match. The Union girls stuck to the game plan especially formulated for this fixture, and played attractive, fast-paced hockey with accurate passes and some brilliant team work that surprised their opponents and had them reeling on occasion. Despite Collegiate finding the back of the goals on a regular basis throughout the game, the Union team never once gave up or looked like they were losing heart. Their determination carried them through and finally saw Soso Mroro smashing home a beautiful goal near the end of the match. If the team can build on the way they played in this match, I can only see success for them in the future. I am exceptionally proud of the girls and am very excited to see if they can continue to play the mature hockey that they displayed on the day. The entire team deserves special mention for their outstanding efforts. Well done girls!

Sport Results

Snr Rugby Results vs Woodridge & Asherville

This past Saturday, 1 June, Union High School hosted Woodridge College in a fixture last played over 10 years ago!  The games started at 09:15 in rather chilly early-morning conditions.  The fixture proved to be one of a very competitive nature.

Union won two out of the three junior matches, which encouraged the senior teams to give it their all.  The third team had a thrilling victorious encounter against Asherville’s 2nd team, where after the second team had a tough encounter… against Asherville’s 1st team, however, they never gave up and gave it their all ‘till the final whistle.

The results of the games preceding that of Union’s 1st XV were as follows: the u/14As lost 5 – 17, the u/15As won 19 – 12, the u/16As won 63 – 12, the 3rd team won 10 – 2 and the second team lost 12 – 38.

The “Mighty Whites” were in for a tough battle as Woodridge College’s 1st XV have been “up there with the best of co-ed schools in the Eastern Cape for the past five years”.  Woodridge were first to put points on the board through a penalty after just five minutes.  A few minutes later, Woodridge pounced from a knock-on and scored in the corner. They failed to convert, making the score 8 – 0 in their favour.
Fifteen minutes into the game, Junior Duba crossed the line for Union’s first try. Union missed the conversion and the score then read 8 – 5 to Woodridge.

Union continued to secure possession and applied tremendous pressure to ensure that Gary Shell crossed over for the team’s second try. The conversion was missed, however, Union still took the lead 10 – 8.  This epic seesaw battle then saw Woodridge breach Union’s defences again. Woodridge went into the half time break 15 – 10 up.  Three minutes into the second half, Union set up an amazing maul on the half way line. Zusakhe Ngwane broke blind off the maul to run 20 metres untouched before linking up with Brett Amsterdam who was awarded a try for his brilliant support play.

Brett converted to put Union back in the lead, 17 – 15.  Woodridge slotted a penalty a few minutes later to take the lead by one point.
Luke McNaughton then converted a penalty awarded to Union, to put Union back in the lead. The scoreboard now read 20 – 18 in Union’s favour.
Both teams continued to battle it out until the end.   The “Mighty Whites” were awarded with one final penalty, which was converted by Luke McNaughton.  Union won the match 23 – 18.

Try scorers for Union were Junior Duba, Gary Shell and Brett Amsterdam.   Brett Amsterdam converted 1 from 3 successfully and Luke McNaughton successfully converted 2 penalties.

Sport Results

Snr Hockey Results vs Woodridge

Saturday, 1 June, saw Union High School’s hockey girls take on Woodridge College in what proved to be a challenging, yet competitive encounter.

To start, the u/16B team lost their encounter 2 – 4, the u/16A team lost 1 – 4 and the second team won 3 – 1.

The first team girls then took the turf, with the first quarter starting with a fast pace, catching Union’s defense on the back foot from the push back.After absorbing an immense amount of pressure, the Union team girls went 1 – 0 down after the 10th minute.  Although the girls worked hard, the pressure mounted again and the first quarter finished with Union 2 – 0 down.

The Union girls fought back hard in the second quarter, showing skill and determination.  Henzé Jaftha found the back of the net after a beautiful pass from Marché Green to close the score line to 2 – 1.  Woodridge quickly fought back and scored a third goal.  This seemed to light the fire again for Union and Henzé converted another beautiful goal.  After another moment of weakness in defense, Woodridge converted again to end the second quarter with a final score of 4 – 2 in favour of Woodridge.

Although the Union girls showed guts and determination in the last two quarters, they weren’t able to hold defensive lines or stick to the game plan, leading to an influx of goals from Woodridge.  “We definitely competed and the final score is not a true reflection of the level of hockey played on the day,” said coach Mr. Alvin August. “The Union girls missed excellent opportunities and allowed poor decision making in defense to let in easy goals against us.”

A beautiful short corner that worked perfectly, allowed Union to remind Woodridge of their attacking ability with a third and final goal for the Union attack. The final score stood at 3 – 9 in Woodridge’s favour.

“It was a privilege to compete against a competitive, skilled team like Woodridge and the girls should be extremely proud of their overall team effort and hockey played on the day,” concluded Mr. August.

Sport Results

Snr Hockey Results vs Westering

Mixed results for senior hockey teams

Union High School’s hockey teams travelled to Port Elizabeth on Saturday, 25 May, to take on Westering High School in what proved to be a very tough encounter.

The Union players were, however, up for the challenge.  The u/16B team drew 1 – 1, the u/16A team won 2 – 0, the second team lost 0 – 2 and the first team won 2 – 1.

After a lengthy trip to PE, Union’s first team started a little flat when they took to the turf but soon managed to find some rhythm.  Union penetrated the Westering circle and won penalty corners on many occasions, but, unfortunately, failed to convert.  It took the Union team 21 minutes to eventually find the back of the net with a well-worked goal by Laetitia Theron who made a good run with the perfect finish.

Westering then equalized a few minutes later and made it tough for the Union team with some good defensive efforts on their side.  In the 47th minute, Union saw a beautiful ball picked up by Henzè Japhta who entered the Westering circle and struck the perfect shot into the back of the net to put Union 2 – 1 up.

With only a few minutes left on the clock, Westering pressed into Union’s half with intent, but the UHS defense was up to the task and kept them out.

Rugby, Sport Results

Snr Rugby Results vs Westering

UHS claims victory at annual derby day

This past Saturday, 25 May, Union High School travelled to Port Elizabeth to face Westering High School in the two schools’ much-anticipated annual derby day.

A very early start to the day and a 3-hour bus trip tested the Union players’ character from the get-go.  The rugby games started at 09:15 on dewy fields which made handling very tough for both schools.

The willingness to succeed and teamwork proved to be the difference in the junior ranks. UHS won two out of the three junior matches, which encouraged the senior teams to give it their all.

The second team once again proved way too strong for their opponents and dominated all facets of the game. This was a true reflection of the depth Union has in the senior rugby ranks and the benefit of the first and second team practicing well together.

Union’s 1st XV stated their intentions from the first whistle, as Zusakhe Ngwane leaped into the air to reclaim possession from a Jaden Brotherton kick-off. This moment set the tone for the rest of the match as Union put Westering under pressure for the duration of the game.

Westering defended admirably, but after 15 minutes of continuous defense, Junior Duba broke the line untouched to score under the poles. Brett Amsterdam added the conversion.

A few minutes later, a lack of discipline led to a Westering penalty. The score now read 7 – 3 in favour of UHS.  Union continued to apply pressure but failed to convert the hard work into points. Westering pounced on a defensive error and scored an unconverted try. The score now stood at 8 – 7 in Westering’s favour after 18 minutes of play.  Union, however, regained composure and controlled the pace at which the game was played.

Holding onto possession and continuity, led to Junior Duba crossing over for his second try. Brett Amsterdam converted to put Union 14 – 8 ahead. Five minutes later, Khwezi Simon dotted over for a well-worked team try. The conversion was missed and the score now stood at 19 – 8 in favour of Union’s ‘Mighty Whites’.  A lack in depth on attack and playing away from the ball, saw Westering intercept a pass and score a converted try for the score to read 19 – 15 in Union’s favour.

Under a bit of scoreboard pressure, Zusakhe Ngwane showed his experience by quick tapping a penalty to put Ashton Dawids in space to cross over in the corner. Brett Amsterdam used the wind well to slot a difficult touchline conversion. Union went into half time 26 – 15 up.

The second half started off very similar to the beginning of the match, as Union continued to apply pressure to Westering’s defense. They continued to defend with all their might, but individual brilliance from Junior Duba saw him cross the whitewash for his hat-trick. Brett Amsterdam converted to increase Union’s lead to 33 – 15.

Westering replied with a good chip and gather try. They converted to make the score stand at 33 – 22.  Wonderful skills and interplay by Union’s backline then led to a try by Brett Amsterdam. He converted to take Union’s tally to 40 points.  With five minutes to go on the clock, Union broke through the heart of Westering’s defense and saw the UHS backline casually shift the ball from fly-half to wing untouched with no defenders in sight. Junior Duba crossed the line to score his fourth try of the game.

Union won the match 45 – 22.

The try scorers for Union, were Junior Duba (4), Khwezi Simon, Ashton Dawids and Brett Amsterdam.

Brett Amsterdam successfully converted 5 from 7.

The other matches during the course of the morning, saw Union’s u/14As lose, the u/15As win 19 – 15, the u/16As win 25 – 20 and the second team win 48 – 3.

Thanks are extended to all the parents and old scholars for their loyal support of Union’s sports teams.

Rugby, Sport Results

Jnr Rugby Results vs Cradock

In what proved to be a very challenging fixture for Union, the school’s u/13A rugby team came out on top in their encounter against Cradock Primary School (CPS) in Graaff-Reinet on Saturday, 25 May, with the final score standing at 21 – 15 in Union’s favour.

The other matches against CPS, saw the u/7As lose 0 – 30, the u/9Bs win 28 – 7, the u/9As lose 7 – 33, the u/11Bs lose 0 – 50 and the u/13Bs lose 0 – 12.

Thanks are extended to all the supporters who showed up to support the Union teams.