GRAAFF-REINET NEWS - Union High School hosted Aliwal North High School in Graaff-Reinet on Saturday 27 April for their annual rugby fixture. It was a tough day on the field for all the Union rugby teams, as Aliwal North proved to be a worthy adversary. The junior teams struggled a bit with the intensity, physicality and directness with which Aliwal North played.
During their encounter against Aberdeen Secondary School that same day, the school’s third team, however, set the standard for the rest of the senior teams’ matches against Aliwal North to follow.
The second team completely dominated their match, which encouraged the first team boys to give it everything they've got. The first XV's match started off with a bang with both teams playing at an incredible pace and intensity. Lapses in concentration and defensive structures quickly saw the 'Mighty Whites' 12 - 0 down.
After calming the storm and regaining composure, the boys found their rhythm and got onto the scoreboard through a try by Bowen Langmead. Aliwal North once again capitalised on one of Union's mistakes and converted to make the score 19-5.
Good interplay between Ashton Dawids and Zusakhe Ngwane saw Union cross the line again. Brilliant pressure from the base of the scrum saw Brett Amsterdam charge down a kick in the Aliwal North goal area which led to a try by Khanya Butshingi.
Union trailed 19-15 at halftime.
UHS regained control of the game in the second half and were first to score in the second half. A brilliant maul followed by great backline play, saw Junior Duba score in the corner, taking the score to UHS 22 - 19 ANHS.
With confidence growing and good ball possession, Jaden Brotherton created space and put Bladen Jacobs away to score under the poles. Jaden converted to take the score to 27 - 19 in Union's favour.
Union's third team played a competitive rugby match against Aberdeen Secondary School on Saturday (27 April) which they won 22-21.
Aliwal North once again scored as a result of a blunder by Union and converted to make the score stand at 27-26 in favour of Union.
Union held on well and kept their heads in this seesaw battle. The boys showed tremendous character and a fighting spirit to the bitter end.
The final score was Union 27, Aliwal North 26.
Union's try scorers were Bowen Langmead, Zusakhe Ngwane, Khanya Butshingi, Junior Duba and Bladen Jacobs.
Jaden Brotherton successfully converted 1 from 5.
The other rugby results saw the u/14A lose 14-17, the u/15A team lose 19-17 and the u/16A team lose 43-14. The second team won 44-12.
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