Hi there everyone…..

Anyone who was at or near the North on Saturday was treated to the best of South Africa’s Scottish Pipe Bands….what a day it was….throngs of people milling around….highland dancers….bagpipes galore, with a rat-a-tat-tat of the snare drums…accompanied by the boom of the tenor and bass drums was present, in varying degrees of volume throughout the day…there were all sorts of treats and nibbles to satisfy the hungriest of tummies…and of course the beer tent was busy….not to mention our bars too….and here I must thank our staff for being absolute stalwarts on the day….the crowd seemed to arrive en masse from the start up (which coincided with the Springbok rugby) through to well after dark…and our staff were there to serve and assist any and all patrons…I received many compliments on our fields, facilities and especially our staff….so I was a really proud Member of Benoni Northerns at the excellent exposure we gained from the day….that we had stood up to the scrutiny and came out with flying colours, is an extremely prestigious accolade that we were able to earn….well done and very big to everyone that contributed to make the day and event the success that it was….

Earlier on Saturday….we saw the resurgence of the Boks in a match against the All Blacks….which on reflection the Boks were a trifle unlucky to only scramble a draw by scoring a converted try in the last action of the match….as minutes earlier the AB’s had converted a penalty, which after some intensive video analysis, reflected that the referee had in fact made the incorrect decision due to an earlier infringement….I don’t want to say that we should have continual TMO (third match official) reviews…..but I think that the TMO should have an inter-active interest in the match, giving the on field referee advice on some of the critical incorrect decisions made….I am sure that there will still be a whole debate on the matter….but I must be honest that the Boks impressed me with their first half performance and their tenacity at not giving up until the last minute…well done lads….this bodes well for the way forwards and the up-coming World Cup, where their opening match is against the self same All Blacks….I’m looking forward to that….

This weekend is our annual junior hockey festival at the North….so please expect to have almost a thousand little boys and girls running around with hockey sticks…being encouraged and spurred on by parents, siblings, grandparents and friends…I expect the Club to be a hive of activity from early on Saturday….so please be aware that congestion could be quite hectic up until about 14h00….so if you are wanting adequate parking, please be here early….I am sure it is going to be another bumper day of festival hockey….

Our Northerns rugby boys are on show this weekend…the Under 21’s and the second side in the finals of their respective leagues…..all the best boys….I hope that you are able to emulate the form that you have displayed over the entire season….Next Saturday the Juniors will be hosting their Annual Rugby day….where we host 12 towns with 10 – 15 rugby sides from each…so we can be expecting anything between 1500 to 2000 rugby players and all their support structures….so please be aware that the traffic could also be a little hectic on the 10^th….similar to the problems that are going to encounter this weekend….

With the pipe band competition, the Soccer guys were relegated to playing across the road to play Sporting….the reserves were having a really difficult match…where their opposition were eventually diminished to only 8 players after some serious ill-discipline….before their Coach invaded the pitch complaining to the referee….at which point the referee decided to abandon the fixture…Sporting were leading at the time 2-1….but there was an expected penalty about to be awarded, as the last dismissal of a player was the opposition goal keeper….before the abandonment…..It is a pity that this is going to have to go to disciplinary to land up with the eventual final result….the first side was seriously depleted of senior players and although the players tried manfully, the opposition was just too strong and we came out on the wrong side of a 4-1 loss….

Friday night proved to be a most festive affair… Black and Blue providing our musical entertainment….Andres and the trio of musicians, again proved why they are so popular and had the crowd singing along and baying for more at the end of the evening….this week we bring back Eben, who will supply his own version of many favourite tunes….

A previous winner of the Joker draw Rika Lourens, had her name pulled out of the beeeeeg black box at Joker draw time….but her luck this time was not as good as her previous attempt…as her selection proved to be the 5 of spades….another roll over…and the Jackpot increases to R66 869… we will have another name pulled out this week to see if we can create another big winner….make sure that you buy a ticket to ensure that it could be your name called this week….

That’s it for today….hope to see you soon…maybe at the Junior tournament on Saturday….or even in front of the Joker cabinet on Friday….

If you feel that we need to improve or change things at the Club…please feel free to email me on rod.scheepers@gmail.com

Take care  Rod

Benoni! Are you ready for a BIG Day Out!
We have invited *Mango Groove* to join us in a celebration of all things East Rand! Bring your friends, bring your family and let’s make it a day to remember! There will be delightful drinks, awesome food and fantastic entertainment all day long! Kids under 14 are FREE, accompanied by an adult. No entry to 15-17 years olds: Alcohol will be served at this event and unfortunately the organisers cannot risk under age drinking at the event.
Benoni Beer & Gin Fest sold OUT so get your tickets early!
Online Tickets:
https://www.howler.co.za/bigdayout
– Limited early bird tickets available at R120 a ticket (plus R6 booking fee).
– Normal entry: R140 (plus R6 booking fee).
– At the door: R160

Rika Lourens (Guest) drew the Five of Spades – Joker Draw a turnover at R66 869.00 for Friday 02nd August. Be present to win!!

“Eben” playing on Friday from 18h30

Baseball u12 World Cup – Australia, Czech Republic, Fiji, Italy, South Africa and USA will all continue to compete in the 7th-12th Place Round.

Benoni Northern Junior Hockey Tournament to be held at Northern Areas on Saturday 03rd August 2019

Welcome to our new ladies at our Eastern Gauteng Masters Hockey Capping Ceremony … . Looking forward to an awesome tournament with you ladies……Chantal Cordier

Another 1st Team Milestone |
The club’s most famous ginger added his name to a prestigious club within the 1st team ranks. Michael Veliotes becomes only the 5th player to reach 200 caps and goes on to join Dale Griffiths, Colin Merifield, Peter Tucker and Chris Tucker as most played for 1st team hockey.

Its been a long wait but finally the lights are up and the Seniors had the 1st run on the practice fields. Its not daylight but we have some of the best practice lights in the region.  Thank you to all who made this possible. The Juniors that have come over, Benoni Northern’ s Main Club Committee supporting us, Senior and Junior Coaches giving up their free time to help, Football letting us use their fields and every single person who made this possible thank you because it would not have happened without you.  Special thanks to our Rugby Chairman Lourens Smit who gave up a lot of his time to make this happen and his hard work is appreciated. Benoni Northern’s Rugby will just grow stronger and stronger.

The 1st of many – Benoni Northern Junior Rugby Tournament to be held at Northern Areas on Saturday 10th August 2019.