False Bay Rugby Football Club

Hi Jon,

 I meant to drop you a line last week, however due to travelling and work pressures, I was not able.

 Firstly, many thanks to you and the committee for the honour and privilege to be one of those few who were asked to hand over the jerseys to the 1st team before the Hammies game - it was hugely significant to me. 

As you know I had my daughter's matric farewell that same evening. However the fact that I was asked to do this was so important to me, that with a bit of manipulating and flexibility, I was able to be there.  Yes, there is and will be a cost (with women there always is), but I will deal with that later.

As mentioned it was an honour and a privilege - one of the proudest moments of my life.  The club means so much to me; it is a club with spirit, welcoming attitudes and above all it's a family club to which you can bring your kids. 

In the game against Villager on saturday we had kids from age 3 to 17 on the side of the field with us, and they loved it to bits. 

Yes, fathers had to catch a few balls coming in from the field, but other than embarrassing ourselves now and then by dropping them after the beers started taking effect, it was all good and a superb afternoon out, and the kids all lived to tell the tale.

As I tried to say in my little speech at the jersey handover(hopefully I was not too tongue-tied) was that it is a club to be proud of and which I am proud to support. 

I have followed the club since I moved from Villager in the late 80's (and the move was one of the best decisions I have made - and man as it good to get a victory over them on Saturday, it has been a long, long time). However I was only able to get about 5 games in before I ruptured my Anterior Cruciate Ligament (against Villager ironically) and that was rugby for me.

But having had a fantastic reception when I moved to the club (which you played a big part in) I then started coming down to watch games in the early 90's.  As I live just around the corner it was quite easy and very therapeutic after a tough week at work. 

I lived through the Mallett era which was like a dream, and even watched the final of the '95 World Cup at the clubhouse - what a day.

I then continued to follow the club through the tough and thankless days of the "3rd" division (and even came close to bleeding for the club after "that" game in Paarl last year), during the comeback from that tough time - but my did it build character. I think this is half the reason why the club is doing well now - we have been made tougher by the experience. High profile clubs like Gardens Tech, Unimil, Defence, Police, van der Stel and Paarl have all slipped to those levels and have not been able to come back.  This shows the character of False Bay, its committee and its people that we have come back, and  we are once again a force to be reckoned with.

it is great that we are doing well now, and beating Village on Saturday was wonderful. The bitter taste of the Springbok defeat was completely obliterated by this team of trojans on the field, doing us proud.

However the main reason for this letter (other than thanking you and the committee for the honour of handing over a jersey to jono) was to thank and recognise the committee for their hours of work, strategizing, planning, solidarity and a never say die attitude - you have done the club well.

The players are getting so much credit at the moment (and rightly so as they are raising the name of False Bay to new heights), but the committee need to be recognized and thanked from the bottom of our hearts for so much work which goes apparently unappreciated.

They stood together during those dark days and kept the club a vibrant, happy place to be, and continued to focus on the goal of being back in the Super League A.

However when all of us would have been happy just to get back into the Super League A, the committee had a further driving goal, which was to be competitive in SLA.  I would think that being top of the log at the moment, was probably beyond their wildest dreams (but maybe not???).

As Buddha (the Australian commentator) used to say - "go you good thing", or maybe it should be changed to "go you Bay thing", as it is a thing that is moving and has been gaining momentum since those dark days of a few years ago.

I will continue to be the clubs most loyal supporter (in amongst the other 1000+ who think the same thing) and as I said in my little speech - although I am not well known and keep a low proifile, I am committed. 

In fact my youngest daughter came with me to the jersey handover ceremony, and she is now hooked.  She knows all the first team guys, as she saw them up close and in "real life" that evening, and then came with me to the Hammies game, and was at Constantia on Saturday.  She knows all the players' names and watches the games intently. The good Lord may not have given me a son to watch playing rugby, but he gave me a daughter who knows quality and a good club when she sees one, she now wants to join the 100 club and become a club member.

So Jon, that is my latest book.  Thanks for the opportunity, and heartfelt thanks and respect to a committee who works so hard behind the scenes, but who must take the credit for where the Bay are today and where we are going to be tomorrow. 

Well done guys and please just keep it going!!!!

Up the Bay.

best regards

Dave