WINDHOEK – Nowadays an astute property agent, streetwise Nimrod is a product of the old location and grew up chasing inflated plastic bags in the dusty streets of the old location (Hochland Park).
He was born in 1951 when the beautiful game of football was the in-thing among the residents of the old location. His first taste of competitive football started at the M H Greef Primary School where he teamed up with other football crazy boys under the stewardship of Tokkie Freiser.
“Truth be told, Tokkie was a true leader, great mentor and a gifted motivator who taught us the basics of football. He taught us about team work, fitness awareness, ball skills and more importantly discipline” recalls Nimrod.
It was only at the Dr Lemmer High School in Rehoboth that Nimrod started playing in competitive structures in 1962. Here, he found himself in the company of Adam Adams, George Prizonsky-Kavirombo, Titus Brand, Weiss Goliath, Heinrich ‘Gol’ Schroeder, Gerson van der Byl, Edward ‘Nose’ Morgenroth and Beer Raffie.
“We used to compete in knockout tournaments against teams from Kobos, Groot Aub and local teams from Rehoboth. Unfortunately, rugby always took centre stage in the town, notably at school level, so most of us were obliged by circumstances beyond our control to play the oval ball game,” reveals Nimrod.
Nimrod started fiddling with rugby when he was in standard 7. He was deployed as a hooker for Dr Lemmer second strings and when coach Theo Sawyers noted the immense talent, the versatile athlete was shifted to his preferred fullback position, alternating between centre and wing positions whenever the need arose.
He was rightfully named skipper of the senior school’s football side and also wore the captain’s armband for Dr Lemmer High School Rugby second team, which certainly was no mean feat.
In those days, Dr Lemmer dominated schools rugby and also gave the local rugby teams a decent run for their money in several knockout tournaments touring towns such as Walvis-Bay and Windhoek.
“I will always cherish our countless battles with both Augustineum High and St Joseph’s Secondary Schools (Dobra). They had talented rugby players such as Elias Jeja, Packy Uaaka, Germanus Mate and Jerry Kauapundu”.
Back on the spherical object, Nimrod formed a telepathic partnership with free-scoring forward Fritzie Poulster in the colours of Thistles FC. The pair tormented defenders at will and became the toast of many football followers across the length and width of the country.
He was a member of the club’s touring entourage on the historic tour of the Cape Province that saw the team competing in a high profile knockout tourney in Steinkpopf.
“We reached the final twice but unfortunately lost on both occasions. However, the team left behind a long lasting impression because a couple of good footballers from the Western Cape Province resolved to come and ply their trade on our shores”.
In 1975, Nimrod finally exchanged the spherical object with the oval ball joining forces with Khomasdal outfit Villagers Rugby Club.
“We assembled a very good squad and recruited rugby greats such as Ellen Pheifer, Dinny Waggi, Tim Hess, Geroge Vries and others. Our ultimate aim was to bring an end to the dominance of Dr Lemmer High School in domestic rugby, which we achieved in no time as we went onto dominate rugby in places like Rehoboth, Walvis-Bay and Windhoek,” boasts Nimrod.
With the changing of time, local authorities were obliged by reality to adjust the outdated apartheid laws that kept blacks at arm-length from their supposedly superior white counterparts, allowing darkies to share the same sports field with larneys, albeit with suspicion cousined by hidden conditions.
In order to compete and give the strong teams from the affluent white minorities a good run for their money, the quartet of Villagers, Flying Eagles, Viscounts and Torinos resolved to amalgamate and form one strong team to represent Khomasdal – hence the inevitable birth of Western Suburbs Sports Club.
Astute local rugby administrator, Alan Dowie was roped in to steer the ship and as they say, the rest is history. Players had to undergo trials in order to determine who should be playing in the newly established rugby team’s first team with the rest to be redeployed in the second team.
“We were determined to show the whites that we were all equal in many aspects of life and wanted to make a statement on the rugby field. It was very tough at the beginning since the match officials where all white and very biased with many decisions going against us but we somehow managed to persevere and weather the storm under very difficult conditions”.
“Our opponents made it their soul beat to discourage us from playing the game of rugby and would call us all sorts of derogatory names at the slightest provocation, ranging from ‘the Jeffersons’ to anything that would demoralise us and diminish our integrity to the core”.
Nimrod went onto enjoy success with Western Suburbs in then intervening years and was in the starting line up when Suburbs narrowly lost in the final of a tournament against the combined South African Defense team in Stellenbosch, near Cape Town.
His most memorable moment on the rugby field was when he masterfully tipped the ball between the Stoop brothers, Leon and Andre (Defense Force) to score a gem of a try.