Shamrocks Rugby Club, est 1896
There is no documented record of who founded this club, but an excerpt from the Cape Times confirms that the club was established in 1896. This photo was taken in 1928, according to the date on the ball.
Clearly identifiable in the photo are Adam Baard and Andrew Baard, as well as captain James “Buller” Moerat, a relative of the Baard family.
The rest resembles members of the Methodist Church families in the Strand – all products of the Wesleyan (Methodist) School.
There is consensus among rugby ‘elders’ that, after the formation of the Wesley Football Club in 1937, the Shamrocks club disbanded and its members decided to join Wesley RFC, founded by Messrs C.R. Rhoda and J.P. Rhoda, both members of the Shamrock RFC at the time, and teachers at the Wesleyan School.
Mr. Sulaiman Abels started his junior rugby career in 1929 with the Wesleyan School, joined Shamrocks RFC in 1936 and later moved to Wesley RFC, as indicated in the picture from the book “Forgotten Heroes: History of Black Rugby 1882 – 1992” by Manie Booley.
Wesley RFC, est. 1935
In 1935, 2 brothers, C.R. Rhoda and J.P. Rhoda, both teachers at the Wesleyan School in Strand, found it necessary that a rugby club be formed to keep school leavers together.
It should be noted that the majority of rugby players, both Moslems and Christians, were connected to the club because the Wesleyan School was the only place of learning in the Strand at that time.
They started the club with an Under-17 and an Under-19 team and played friendly matches against similar groups in the region.
In 1937 the Wesley Rugby Football Club was officially formed and Mr Gerrit Thomas was elected as Chairman. In the same year the Rhoda brothers, C.R. and J.P, together with their Somerset West Methodist School counterparts, established the Somerset West and District Rugby6 Union that served the area from Somerset West to Grabouw. The region was fortunate to have administrators of the calibre of the Rhodas, Gordons, Darius and many others at the time.
Wesleys Rugby Club, now an affiliate of the Somerset West and District Rugby Union played an important role in the development of rugby in the region. They produced so many talented players that they shattered many a record and regularly won the major trophies in the Union. The club was well represented in the Union team when it won the prestigious Van Riebeek Trophy and the Gold Cup – 2 major national competitions. In 1959 and 1963 2 very successful tours were undertaken to Port Elizabeth and East London.
Mr. Sulaiman Abels succeeded Mr. Gerrit Thomas as Chairman and occupied that position for 49 years. Mr. A. Davids was the Treasurer of the club for 15 years and Mr. Michael Baard the Secretary for 11 years. Mr. Baard was also a prominent and senior referee for many years.
As for players since inception, it would be impossible to name them all, but the following names come to mind: old stalwarts were George McIntyre, James “Buller” Moerat, Gerrit Thomas, Charlie Stewart, Manie Hartogh, Phillip Lindeboom, Willie Williams, Willie Solomons, Charles February, Leonard Presence, Wallace Josephs, George Josephs, Danie Cornelson, Chris Terhoven and Jaffie Daniels. When those pioneers’ careers ended, other, younger players emerged: Stanley Arendse, Edward Arendse, Neville Arendse, John Bekkers, Hubert Daniels, William Reeding, Cedras Reeding, Butties Reeding, Charles Xavier Williams, John Rose, Michael Baard, Edmund Solomons, John Hendricks, Harold “Turkey” Shields, Thomas October, Naftalie Engelbrecht, N. Jacobs, Mervin Haupt and many others.
The Bekkers family relocated from Raithby and they played an important role in the development of sport in the region. John Bekkers became a household name in the community for his brilliant leadership qualities on and off the field. He played for and captained the Somerset Board on many occasions, for instance when they won the national Kearns and Gold Cup Trophies. Mr. Bekkers also captained the Protea side an a ‘test’ against the leopards in Port Elizabeth. He was the Secretary for the Somerset West Union for several seasons and was the Union’s delegate to the S.A. Rugby Federation and W.P. League meetings.
Another notable player, Mr. William Reeding, represented the Somerset West Rugby Union on many occasions. He toured with the S.A. Rugby Federation team, the Proteas, to England in 1970/71.
Although the Club doesn’t exist anymore, the legacy and impact of their members has been important for the development of sport in the Helderberg Region.
Proteas Cricket Club
No documentary evidence unfortunately exists as to when this club was established. According to the late Mr Norman Thomas, his father, Gerrit, together with other Wesley rugby players saw the need to form a cricket club to keep them occupied during the summer season and so the Proteas Cricket Club was born, with Mr Gerrit Thomas as the Chairman. This cricket club was supposedly an extension of the Wesley Rugby Club which was established in 1937.
Needless to say, with sound administration, excellent discipline and many talented players, the club played an important role in the development of cricket in the region. Unfortunately, only 1 team photo could be found, but many players of the club were selected for the Hottentots-Holland Cricket Union over the years. Players that come to mind include Neville Arendse, John Bekkers, Manie Hartogh, Sulaiman Abels, Ronnie Ingham, Charles Stewart, Solly Arendse, Hubert Daniels and Christie Thomas. Other players were Nicolas Christians, William Williams, Daantjie Jacobs, Tienie Thomas, Naties Jacobs, Daniel Erasmus, Hillary Mortlock, Norman Thomas, Vincent Thomas, Eben Thomas, Roy Thomas, Douglas Visser, Edward Daniels, Mervyn Haupt, Stanley Hess and Noor Keraan, among others.
The merging of Clubs in the transformation era in the late 1980’s saw the end of the club’s existence.
Montrose Cricket Club
According to the late Mr. Norman Thomas, the club must have been established in the late 1940’s.
Founder members include Dennis Josephs, Bertie Baard, Willie “Pyp” Williams, Peter Williams, Phillip Lindeboom, Charlie Stewart, John Messiahs, Frank Josephs, Solly Arendse, Stanley Arendse and Cyril Thomas. These senior players saw the need for a new cricket club as the upcoming younger players were – for various reasons such as lots of infighting, arguments, jealousy, etc – reluctant to join the established clubs and so the Montrose Cricket Club was established.
According to Mr. Vincent Thomas, one of the gathering places for our youngsters was the café of his Uncle Eddie Thomas, the Montrose Cafe, hence the name Montrose Cricket Club.
From the outset the club was a huge success and developed into one of the leading and most respected clubs in the region – a reflection of the calibre of the Methodist fraternity. Talented players like Dennis Josephs, Neville Arendse, Solly Arendse and Stanley Arendse were regularly selected for the Barnato Cricket Tournament held in Kimberley or Johannesburg, with excellent personal contributions.
After a few seasons with the Hottentots-Holland Cricket Union in the Strand, they joined the Somerset West Cricket Union where the competition was on a higher level with top class clubs such as Oaks C.C. with the well-known Maclons family, the All Saints C.C. starring the highly ranked Smith brothers and Nelsons C.C etc
The Playing fields
Home matches were played on the grounds of the then Methodist Primary School (now called Locherhof Primary) and later on the grounds of the
C.R. Rhoda Primary School in Halfway. The cricket ground at Methodist Primary was called “Pierinkie” (Saucer) as the field was smaller than a normal ground and was a bit hollow in the centre. In those days cricket pitches were made of a gravel strip, compressed with a roller. A cricket mat then covered the length of the gravel strip. Mr. Vincent Thomas recalled that his brother, Reginald (Reggie), sacrificed his playing career to take on the preparation of the pitch every Saturday. The mat was kept at their family home. Reggie would put this heavy mat on his bicycle, push it to the field and prepare the pitch. This he did for many years. Mr. Norman Thomas related that the grounds at C.R. Rhoda School was next to the railway line and when those old steam trains from Strand to Cape Town passed the field, the umpire would stop play until the train had passed. Sometimes the (white) train drivers would deliberately slow down the train to a snail’s pace so that play could be delayed for as long as possible, much to their own entertainment, laughing and waving as they proceeded.
The Players
The club produced top class players such as Dennis Josephs, Neville Arendse, Solly Arendse, Manie Hartogh, Stanley Arendse, Charlie Stewart, Frank Josephs, Phillip Lindeboom, Willie “Pyp” Williams, Nadeem Daniels and Willie Solomons. As these senior players’ careers ended, more young, exciting players emerged. They were people like Patrick Roos, Mosie Botha, Stanley Dreyer, Hubert Stewart, Gordon Josephs, Ronnie Arendse, Peter West, Verne Josephs, Rubin van Niekerk, Alwyn Dreyer, Dan Rhoda, Cedric Daniels, Mervin Arendse, Eric Stewart, William Stewart, Charlie Berman, Saaid Davids, Lucas Groenewald, Ivan Baard and Alexander Josephs.
The Officials
The following people served as officials of the club: Peter Dreyer, T. Desai, Douglas Wentzel, Frank Josephs, Mushin Rhoda, Norman Thomas, Vincent Thomas, Reginald Thomas, Rubin van Niekerk, Peter West and Verne Josephs.
With the normalisation of sport in the country, all these clubs were disbanded without their long and important history being recorded.
Methodist Ex-Scholars RFC
In 1953 a few enthusiastic youngsters, fresh out of school, decided to organise themselves into a rugby club and so the Methodist Ex-Scholars Rugby Football Club was born.
The founder members were Alec Thomas, Raymond Hartogh, Herbert Wentzel, Frank Williams, Christian West, Vernon Josephs, Rubin van Niekerk, Ronald Arendse, Eric Stewart and Isaac Liberty. For a number of years, the club competed against other junior clubs in the region.
As the club developed and grew, application was made to the Somerset West and District Rugby Union for affiliation. The request was vehemently opposed by the Wesley RFC because it was – ironically, it must be said – accepted that these youngsters should join the Wesley club, seeing that their fathers had played for the club in their heydays. Eventually, after several meetings and debates, the club was accepted by the Somerset West Union and was given their senior status.
The club dominated the rugby scene in the basin for many years. As expected, matches between Wesley RFC and Methodist Ex-Scholars RFC were always keenly contested year after year and were considered local derbies. The latter attracted huge crowd support due to their exciting brand of running rugby.
Over the years the club produced outstanding players. Herbert Bekkers was selected for the S.A. Federation side and Alec Josephs for the Western Province side. Players who were selected for the Board Teams over the years were: Herbert Bekkers, Hubert Stewart, William Williams, Abe Hopley, Christie West, James Shields, Alec Josephs, John Daniels, Arthur Daniels, Vincent Thomas, Henry Briesies, Raymond Hartogh, Owen Daniels, Peter van Wyk, Christie Mortlock, Vincent Hendricks, Norman Thomas, Nicholas Christians, Charles Volkwyn, Stanley Dreyer and Daniel Jacobs.
Other players who stood out
It would be impossible to name every player who joined the club since its establishment.
However, the following players deserve mentioning: Herbert Wentzel, Kenneth Wentzel, David Visser, Dan Visser, Danny Stewart, Gordon Josephs, Clive Jacobs, Cecil Jacobs, Edward Mortlock, Stanley Arendse, Andrew Williams, Fred Williams, Ronnie Williams, Peter Collins, Herman Hartogh, Allan Roos, Leon Cornellison, Arthur Williams, Cedric Daniels, Dudley Pretorius, Brian Josephs, Patrick Josephs, Raymond Martin, John Martin, George Mortlock, Herbert Phillips, Randal Arendse, Stephan Fredericks, Basil February, Alwyn Dreyer, Daniel Jacobs and Ben Ramati.
It would be unfair to single out any player for special praise; however, one cannot overlook the honour brought to the club and the region by Hubert Stewart. He was the most talked about player throughout his rugby career and was, without a doubt, the best flyhalf in the region for many years. He helped win many matches for his club and the Union through goal and drop kicks and his general skilful play invigorated the other players and brought the best out of them. Interestingly, he also excelled at cricket and his achievements were always well reported in the newspapers.
Some of the Club’s Successes over the Years
Ex-Scholars won the Merit Trophy – awarded to the team that scored the most tries for the season – for 5 consecutive years. They also won the Points Shield on many occasions. This Shield was awarded for most points in the season. The club qualified on 2 occasions to compete in the Silver Trophy Competition – a competition that was held every 2 years to determine the National Club Champions. In 1963 it went on its first tour to Namaqualand under the management of Norman Thomas. In 1970 the club went on another successful tour to Port Elizabeth and Durban, this time managed by Vincent Thomas.
Club Officials
Apart from its talented players, the club was also blessed with very competent and able officials for many years. The long-serving Chairman, Alec Josephs, was a strict disciplinarian and was well supported over the years by Norman Thomas, Andrew Williams, Joel Meyer, Ronald Crotz, David Vollenhoven, Sonny Rhoda, Saaid Davids, Vincent Thomas, Leonard Presence and others.
Team managers were Douglas Wentzel. Peter Dreyer, Phillip Lindeboom and Leonard Presence. The club was instrumental in the formation of the Strand Sports Board of Control in 1958 and some of its members occupied important positions in its administration for many years. The merging of clubs during the transformation era in the late 1980’s unfortunately led to the demise of the name Ex-Scholars RFC.
The Rusthof Congregation’s Sporting History