FALSE BAY RUGBY CLUB

In what many identified as the best Club100 Meeting to date, veteran broadcasting personality Trevor Quirk enthralled an audience of well over one hundred as he led the enigmatic and everyone’s favourite-boy-next-door-cum-pin-up-rugby-player/businessman, Bob Skinstad through a Q&A session at The Bay on April 23.

 

Club100 is False Bay’s fund-raising arm, run by stalwart Andy Calmeyer, with the valued administrative support of Natasha Leibbrandt. Membership to this segment costs R1000 per annum and has many advantages, including discounts at The Bay, three Cocktail Evenings with eminent guest speakers and an annual lucky draw with prizes of R5000, R3000 & R1000.

 

The greatest value-add is being part of a rugby club as unique as the Bay which is on the up in so many more ways than just only on the pitch.

 

The evening was made possible through the kind participation of a number of sponsors. Sasfin Bank kindly donated the meal, while Rheebokskloof supplied their exceptional wine for the guests.

 

Stor-Age had recently been announced as anchor sponsors of False Bay RFC for 2014 and the First XV will be referred to, where possible, as Stor-Age False Bay.

 

No SA rugby player has retained the interest of the average South African as has Bob Skinstad, even eons after his days on the playing fields drew to a close.

 

The Club100 members were given an insight to what makes this man so special as he was interviewed by False Bay’s own MC ‘laureate’, Trevor Quirk.

 

Quirkie has been a Club100 member for a number of years and has strong connections to False Bay and a number of its members, so his position as MC for such events is a no-brainer. It is only when one witnesses this master of his craft at work that one realises just how much the interviewer contributes to a successful presentation.

 

With this backdrop, Trevor took to the stage and introduced his guest who needed no introduction, yet ironically needed all the introduction that one could afford.

 

Skinstad, has forged a more than modest career as a businessman since trading his boots in for the footwear of the captains of industry.

 

Before shifting focus to the main guest, one last word about the MC. His complete command of the English language, combined with a perfect sense of timing and clever use of tone and punctuation, immediately relaxed the audience and set them up for the introduction of one of SA rugby’s favourite sons.

 

The Bob Skinstad we all see is well-known. Pleasant, attractive, articulate and refined, the man is a marketers dream, but what struck all attending is the modesty and warmth of a man as normal and down to earth as you and I.

 

It is this disarming, conversational Bob that stripped all attending of their possible reservations and swept them along on a 90 minute journey of laughter, insight and plain ol’ good South African fun.

 

No one in the audience felt that Bob was speaking to anyone but themselves. It was an interlude of high quality entertainment by two consummate professionals. On the one had Quirk built each question up from foundation to the last coat of paint, allowing the audience to understand the question even if they were ignorant of the instance being discussed.

 

On the other side Skinstad, totally at ease with someone he knew and trusted, picked up on the spirit of the question and the confidence of knowing that the audience were seeking entertainment and not sensationalism, delivered feelgood entertainment to which every rugby man could relate.

 

The Q&A session did not attract many questions possibly because Bob had, true to character, not resorted to sensationalism to bolster his performance, instead promoting positivity and respect.

 

First XV Assistant Coach, Chris Hewetson grasped this and asked a question which suited the spirit of the evening, “who are the characters of SA rugby”. The delight Skinstad took in sharing what we as supporters want to hear of our heroes, ie that they are ordinary folks like us, was palpable and most appreciated by the audience.

 

The evening was an enormous success. While walk-in clientele was not easy to avoid, the impact of a new visitor to The Bay is undeniable when one considers the scenario of “popping in” to The Bay and to be met with a large audience hanging off the lips of icons such as Bobby Skinstad and Trevor Quirk.

 

It was surreal in terms of where False Bay were with regards their facility, but it is likely to become rigor de jour in the near future.