DAVIDS THE GOLIATH
The year we were relegated, UWC were the other team to go down. By comparison, they were relegated twice more and are now top of the Division One (which has become the fifth league).
Daryl Sim was central to Justin van Winkel joining the club. Justin has been the talisman at False Bay, his talent and ability unquestionable and his loyalty to the club unwavering. This man is all class and his exceptionally high personal standards inspire his own performances and his teammates week in and week out.
His fitness, strength and absolute commitment to the cause makes him the False Bay standout player of the last six seasons.
Naturally there is more than one pillar to this team, and a player who is not perhaps given due recognition by our supporter base or the public voice of our club, is Marc Davids.
In the almost eight years that I have been involved with the “New False Bay”, this young man has impressed me more and more. His loyalty is obvious. He could have moved on when the dreaded relegation happened. He was a registered student at UWC and also had other clubs chasing his services, but he was steadfast in his role in the rebuilding of the club.
Marc shone week in and week out in the Super League B. He inspired as a leader. He broke the line of the opposition at will, setting up scoring opportunities for those around him or banking them himself. He organised defence, frustrating opponents with his ability to arrange the line.
Marc was indeed a pillar of False Bay during the SLB days. As is the wont of the modern day supporter or rugby follower, there were detractors (outsiders to False Bay), who not wanting to acknowledge the man’s talent, claimed that he would be shown up in the Super League A.
I mention this not to demean the man, he is one who takes courage and motivation from such reminders.
The reason I write this in the first person is to pay homage to one of those features and thereby have license to express pride and admiration for one of those outstanding features. There are so many features of the False Bay 2010 season.
Not only has Marc quickened our pulses with his line breaks, or his solid defence in tandem with Brandell Brandt or Damien Janse van Rensburg, he evokes pride in me when I watch the First Team. His passion, as if it could burn brighter, does so with great intensity. He evokes joy with his understanding and measure of his opponents and his wonderful, breaks with a lazy lope.
The respect I have for Marc Davids is that here is a man who could have deserted the ship when it started leaking, but chose not to do so. Here is a man who took so much abuse, physical and verbal in the SLB from some of the opposition, but turned his back on it.
Here is a man, who worked as hard as anyone else to help his club regain a position within the top ten clubs in the province. He responded to the challenge set out by the coaches. He played a major role in encouraging others to join the club, some potential usurpers of his position.
He remains a force amongst the players on and off the field, instilling in those around him a passion for False Bay.
But my greatest pride and joy on the part of Marc Davids is the due reward he is harvesting. Marc is every bit a Super League A centre. He is not playing at the limits of his talent or ability every week, overstaying a welcome given to long suffering servants.
No this man is the real deal. He shines week in and week out against the best. He does what he has been doing for the last seven years, only this time against the best.
This man now has the respect of his opponents in the top flight, and he did that while being true to himself. He stood by the club and I feel a great amount of pride for this lad as he reaps his just reward by standing out in a standout team.
Thanks and well done Marc.
