Vice Captain Lips Out – July 2014

Not having received my five year tie yet, it is unlikely that I hold any Gauteng Nomads records in an organisation that is over fifty years old. However, with our JVC being away diving in Indonesia I started the field at Glenvista for the 17^th time. I will have to check the archives to see whether this constitutes a record, second only to Tony Shaw. It appeared from the balcony that all went well and thanks to Greg Yeoman and Sheldon Botha for looking after the tee boxes.

The Andrew Mentis charity is starting to gain some traction and thanks once again to all those individuals who have dipped into their wallets to support our fund raising efforts. For those of you that don’t know Tyron Zaaiman, it means that you have somehow managed to avoid his raffle ticket sales. Not only is he my raffle ticket seller but also the debt collector for sales made and not yet paid. For the month of August, Tyron will continue to sell the second and final TaylorMade draw. The draw for the clubs and bag will be done at our Andrew Mentis Golf Day at Modderfontein on 5 September 2014.

On the topic of the Golf Day, the entry forms are available for both morning and afternoon times and the entry form will be distributed via email (that thing that comes to your computer) by Bev on her return. We have managed to keep the entry fee the same as the previous year, something one doesn’t hear too often any more. For those new Nomads that haven’t participated in an Andrew Mentis day before, it is an opportunity to invite guests and prospective Nomads to join us. According to our current waiting list, it would be good idea to get some prospective members added to it. There must be at least one Nomad in the fourball. There will be hole sponsorship available on the day and as in previous years, we will be looking for prize sponsors and donations. Anybody willing to assist with either of these should contact myself or Sean Ledden. There will also be the traditional raffles on the day and this year I have decided to raffle off two “rugby day experiences” to be drawn at prize giving.

The invitation for the Rugby Day at Ellis Park on 4 October, Springboks against New Zealand, is ready and will be sent out shortly. After much effort and negotiation with Ellis Park and Computicket, we have unfortunately not been able to reduce the cost of a ticket. The cost of the all-inclusive package for the day will be R1,050 per person. This will include your transport to and from the game (or parking ticket), food and drinks and the game ticket. We have fortunately managed to obtain tickets on the Main Grandstand on the western side of the stadium. These will be sought after tickets, so we are restricting it to four tickets per Nomad. I suggest you book and pay for your tickets as soon as possible.

Looking at the Ellis Park stats for South Africa vs NZ since the World Cup Final in 1995 our record is good, played 6, won 4, lost 2. In those six games – points for 192 and points against 173.

Go Bokke

Graham Bishop