Hello everyone…

We have had some real winter weather in the last week…I trust that everyone was well wrapped up against that bitingly cold wind that seems to arrive every time there is a cold front….

Our national netball ladies acquitted themselves quite admirably at the World Cup….I think we were extremely unfortunate to land up playing England in front of their partisan crowd….their girls definitely lifted their games against us….but we fared better than we have in many a year….at the North we have also already had some queries about Netball….I am sure that pretty soon we could have ourselves a new sub section….I am holding my thumbs….

With the onset of winter our crowds on Fridays have been a little disappointing…so I am really hoping for some warmer Friday nights that the Members of the North start coming out in their numbers again to experience the Friday fare that we offer….last Friday, Tryst were back in the Scimitar and again rocked everyone’s socks off….thanks to Cedz for a super evening…..the Joker draw produced another “newbie” as Ross Pawlett bounced up to take his place at the Cabinet and in the quest of finding  the Joker…..his luck was no different to anyone else in the preceding weeks as he drew the 4 of spades…another roll over and the pot increases to R64466…with the month end up this month we are expecting really nice crowd to join us in the quest of finding the Joker…we also have the very popular Black and Blue providing our musical  entertainment… please come along to see if you could be the next lucky person to be drawn to look for the Joker and win the Joker Jackpot….and enjoy the evening with us…

Our Soccer boys again had a double header and with two difficult sets of opposition, we knew that our squads would be hard pressed to come through injury free and with positive results too…playing against Linhill Celtic on Saturday and Luso on Tuesday evening meant that a difficult prospect awaited…the reserve side were cruising at 3-1 against a very competitive Linhill side…before conceding two late goals to have to settle for a share of the spoils on the day…whilst on Tuesday night…it was completely different as the reserves faced a most experienced Luso and had to come back from behind twice…and from the last kick of the match we were able to share the spoils  this time 2-2….so no losses for the reserves…but also no win!! The first side were definitely the better of the two sides on Saturday against Linhill and despite having to come back from being behind on two occasions…were able to eke out a late winner and took the match 3-2…a great result for the boys….in the Tuesday evening fixture….Luso showed why they have been such a highly thought of outfit….leaving us facing a deficit of 2-0 at the break after some poor defending… but with all credit to the boys…after an obvious tongue lashing at half time from the coach…we came out guns blazing and took control of the match and were able to cancel their lead and walked away with a creditable 2-2 draw… so after a hectic last 10 days there will be no respite, as the boys are hosting Sporting this weekend…in a match that has been moved to the ‘C’ field to accommodate the pipe band gathering on the main fields on Saturday….

The rugger buggers were in their first semi final for quite a few years….and while the under 21’s maintained their excellent performance of the season…the first side appeared to be a little blinded by the lights and couldn’t produce the same unbeaten home performance…..that means that our second side and under 21’s will be contesting in the finals next weekend, while the firsts will have learned from the play-off experience…and this will hold them in good stead in the future… in Saturdays matches the under 21’s won by the proverbial mile…but the firsts found that Sasolburg were going to be a very different prospect in this particular match…..we were under the cosh for most of the match and with indiscipline causing us to play with 14 players for a portion of the match…it was always going to be an uphill struggle….at the end of the match Sasol ran out 20-12 winners…but a healthy congratulations to our side for playing some magnificent rugby throughout the season…allowing us to host a semi-final and for creating a fantastic vibe within the Rugby club…well done to all concerned.

On a more technical point…more laurels for the rugby committee…this week saw the big switch on of the lights on our Rugby fields….a massive well done to Lourens for his tireless efforts in this saga….he has remained resolute that he will get lights for his junior rugby players and on Monday night it all became a reality….I must say a huge thank you to a bull of a man….it has been a privilege and pleasure to work with you….and I am very proud and honoured to have you as part of my Club…thank you Lourens….

Our pizza kitchen has started with some prototypes…and by all accounts it is a massive success…with plenty of lip smacking and finger licking experiences….please come and taste their wares and join us in the official opening on Wednesday 31^st ….remember that you can still take part in the naming of the venue…see elsewhere in the Scimitar newsletter for more details….

That is all I have for today….I wish you well…stay warm

Regards

Rod

PS….if you have any suggestions or feel that we need to improve on anything or any aspect at the Club…please feel free to email me on rod.scheepers@gmail.com

Benoni Northerns Naming Competition!

Something exciting and new is happening at Northerns and we want your help! Beady eyed members may have noticed a wee bit of construction going on in the Beer Garden lately, and come 01 July 2019, we will have a new pizza and coffee cafe up and running to serve our members as well as a new mobile drinks bar in the form of the caravan to alleviate some of the bar traffic.   We are running a competition to choose the names of both the pizza/ coffee cafe and the mobile drinks bar. The winners will each be awarded a R250 Benoni Northerns voucher! You can enter as many times as you like! Winning names will be chosen by the committee and will be contacted directly!

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

Ross Pawlett (Hockey ) drew the Four of Spades – Joker Draw a turnover at R64 466.00 for Friday 26th July. Be present to win!!