GRAAFF-REINET NEWS — Union High School's first rugby team fought their way to a narrow 24-21 victory over Aliwal North in Graaff-Reinet on Saturday, 5 May.
In unusually warm conditions the boys struggled to build any continuity and made too many errors, which resulted in much frustration from the players themselves, as well as spectators.
It was a real ding-dong battle with the lead changing several times. Fortunately, Union was able to score three excellent tries and dug deep on defence which secured the win against tough opposition.
Breyton Damons finished off an excellent passage of play to score Union's first try. Cowan Swartz then showed his class by scoring two long-range individual tries either side of halftime. Matt Harpur converted all three tries and kicked a penalty.
Backline player of the match once again goes to Cowan Swartz, who seems to glide through defences with ease and create scoring opportunities with every touch.
Forward of the match was Gary Shell. He got through a mountain of hard work and stood his ground on both sides of the scrum.
It wasn't a fluent performance, but sometimes a close win builds character and mental toughness, which are things that can't be coached. The team can be proud of themselves for winning, despite feeling that they weren't at their best.
Hockey
At Saturday's match against Aliwal North, three of the Union High School's first hockey team players, Micela Loock, Sima Desemela and Jenna McNaughton, received their 100 caps for the first team. The school congratulates these three players on this great achievement, and thank them for their hard work and dedication.
The Union team was just too strong for the Aliwal team winning, the match 4-0.
Rebecca Langmead scored a hat trick and Kelly Rose-Innes scoring her first goal for the first team.
Junior hockey vs Westering
On Saturday, Union's Junior hockey teams travelled to Port Elizabeth to play against Westering Primary School.
The second juniors were first up and taking the hot, energy-sapping conditions in their stride, they launched their attack on the home team. The play was fairly evenly matched though and after a ding-dong battle for possession, neither team were able to score resulting in the game finishing in a goalless draw.
Union's first junior team fielded a slightly depleted team due to injuries and illness and seemed a little slow off the mark.
A goal from Westering was needed to shake the Union girls into action. After realising they were 1-0 down, they suddenly started to take back control of the game.
Soso Mroro equalised the scores with a spectacular individual effort, which saw her carrying the ball from her own defensive circle, finishing it off by smashing it deftly past their keeper. Soso also scored the second goal after a beautifully timed pass from her wing, Chloe Erasmus, to give Union the 2-1 win.
Player of the Match for the first team undoubtedly goes to Musa Zweni who weathered numerous attacks from the opposing team and pulled off some phenomenal saves in the process. Without her composure in the box, the outcome would most certainly have been very different.
On this note, Union would like to thank Sima Desemela, the first team keeper, who spent time with the junior keepers during the week, to impart some of her vast knowledge. The work she did with them was evident in both matches.
Junior hockey vs Gill Primary
Some of Union's junior hockey teams travelled to Somerset East on Monday, 7 May, and produced a mixed set of results. For the second grass fixture in a row, the girls struggled to adjust their game and this resulted in some fairly scrappy play from both our teams.
The second juniors played an energetic game and although they held possession for the majority of the game, their passes lacked the required accuracy for them to capitalise at crucial moments. In the dying seconds of the match, Aaminah Steele clinched the win with an opportunistic goal resulting from a loose ball in the circle.
The first juniors launched their attack on the opposition from the opening whistle and kept up a frenetic pace throughout the game. While they too dominated possession, they were possibly a little over-eager and made too many errors in their attacking circle.
They certainly had the opportunities to score, but were unable to connect when necessary and walked away with a disappointing goalless draw. The team hopes to address this inability to convert their possession into goals in time for their next fixture.
The defenders, however, had a solid game and thwarted almost every attack before it even reached our defensive 25 which proved very frustrating for Union's opposition.
Union's third team won their match 1-0, the second team won 1 - 0 and the first team drew 0 - 0.
Congratulations to three of Union High's first team hockey players for receiving their 100th cap for the first team. Receiving her award from Head of Sport, Carl Bezuidenhout, is Micela Loock, and Sima Desemela and Jenna McNaughton, receiving their awards from Headmaster, William Pringle.
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