Syd Nomis

Sydney Nomis (15 November 1941 – 16 June 2018 ) was a South African national rugby union player who until 2001 held the record for most consecutive matches (25) played for the Springboks. Nomis is best remembered for tries that he scored against France in 1968 and the All Blacks in 1970.

Along with Okey Geffin, Nomis is considered one of the greatest Jewish rugby players of all time, and is a member of the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame. He was inducted in 1999.

Early career Nomis played club rugby for Wanderers in Johannesburg. He revealed that while playing club rugby he also occasionally received slurs, with opponents calling him a "Blerrie Jood" [Afrikaans for "Bloody Jew"]. Nomis remembered injuring one such player to the extent that he had to be carried off the field. "If you played rugby then, that was how it was played, there was no other way ... club rugby was almost harder than international rugby." Nomis said that he only experienced anti-Semitism at club level. But "after the game we would have a beer together and we would be big mates." And national rugby official Danie Craven at the time believed that selecting a Jew and a policeman brought luck to the Springbok team. including the 1965 Springbok tours to Australia and New Zealand, and the 1966 Gazelles outing to Argentina (which included a game against Chile).

In 1965 Nomis was selected at centre alongside John Gainsford for the side that left for Australia under coach Johan Claassen. The Melbourne newspaper The Age was impressed with Nomis' and Gainsford's "incredible acceleration" during a 52–6 Springbok victory over Victoria at Olympic Park's no. 2 oval on 12 June. Apart from a solitary win against New Zealand, the Springboks lost five out of six test matches on the rain-sodden tour, and was judged by The New Zealand Herald'''s Terry McLean to be the worst South African team to face the All Blacks. Matters were not helped by South African prime minister H F Verwoerd's announcement during the tour that Māoris would not be allowed to play in South Africa if selected for the 1967 All Black tour to that country.

In 1966 Nomis was chosen to represent a South African under-25 side known as the Gazelles on their tour to Argentina. He did not play in the two "tests" against the Argentinian national side, but did score 5 tries in 7 other matches, including two against Cordoba on 24 August.

Test matches In addition to his uncapped matches, Nomis was capped 25 times for a total of 54 appearances in the green and gold. – a position he retained for three consecutive tests. The French tour was organized by Danie Craven, then-President of the South African Rugby Union, to replace a New Zealand tour, which had been cancelled by New Zealand after the South African government refused to allow Māori members entry. The French were Five Nations champions that year. Nomis replaced centre John Gainsford, who had occupied the position for 33 tests between 1960 and 1967.

Nomis was selected for what became known as the Springbok "demo tour" of 1969 to 1970 to the United Kingdom. Continuous disruptions on and off the field by thousands of anti-apartheid demonstrators and associated strikes of service personnel created constant tension within the touring party. These protests were part of a global movement organized by South Africans like Peter Hain and Dennis Brutus to isolate South Africa's all-white sports teams due to their racial selection policies.

Nomis fainted at an after-match reception at the Angel Hotel in Cardiff and was hospitalized for a night. His wife was pregnant at the time. " 'You never knew if there might be a guy in the stands with a gun or something, it was frightening. You think, ‘Jeez am I going to get home to see my firstborn?' " During the subsequent tour by the All Blacks to South Africa in the last half of 1970, Nomis tried to let the New Zealand players know that he did not vote for the apartheid government. The try came after Mannetjies Roux was tackled and Nomis kicked the loose ball into the in-goal area. As he ran to dot down, his legs cramped and he fell down. After repeatedly falling down from cramp and getting up again, he managed to score the try. He later discovered that in commentary on the match South African radio broadcaster Charles Fortune had credited Roux with the try. Former Springbok captain Morne du Plessis later thanked Viviers for the " 'try you and Syd Nomis scored' ".

The McCormick incident On 8 August 1970 at Newlands in the second test against the touring side Nomis was felled by All Black fullback Fergie McCormick. Nomis had kicked the ball over McCormick's head and tried to run around him. McCormick spun around and hit Nomis in the mouth with his elbow, knocking out two teeth and loosening several others. Referee Wynand Malan, a dentist, straightened Nomis' teeth on the field. Although he had lost consciousness briefly, Nomis stayed on to finish the game with a bleeding mouth. He later described the test as " 'the dirtiest game of rugby I have ever seen or been involved in' ". Opposition Result Position Tries Date Venue France 6–6 Outside Centre 12 August 1967 Newlands Stadium, Cape Town British and Irish Lions 25–20 Outside Centre 8 June 1968 Loftus Versfeld Stadium, Pretoria British and Irish Lions 6–6 Outside Centre 22 June 1968 Boet Erasmus Stadium, Port Elizabeth British and Irish Lions 11–6 Left wing 13 July 1968 Newlands Stadium, Cape Town British and Irish Lions 19–6 Left wing 1 27 July 1968 Ellis Park Stadium, Johannesburg France 12–9 Left wing 9 November 1968 Stade Municipal, Bordeaux France 16–11 Left wing 1 16 November 1968 Stade Olympique Yves-du-Manoir, Paris Australia 30–11 Left wing 2 2 August 1969 Ellis Park Stadium, Johannesburg Australia 16–9 Left wing 16 August 1969 Kings Park Stadium, Durban Australia 11–3 Left wing 6 September 1969 Newlands Stadium, Cape Town Australia 19–8 Left wing 20 September 1969 Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein Scotland 3–6 Right wing 6 December 1969 Murrayfield, Edinburgh England 8–11 Right wing 20 December 1969 Twickenham Stadium, London Ireland 8–8 Right wing 10 January 1970 Lansdowne Rd, Dublin Wales 6–6 Right wing 1 24 January 1970 Cardiff Arms Park Cardiff New Zealand 17–6 Right wing 1 25 July 1970 Loftus Versfeld Stadium, Pretoria New Zealand 8–9 Right wing 8 August 1970 Newlands Stadium, Cape Town New Zealand 14–3 Right wing 29 August 1970 Boet Erasmus Stadium, Port Elizabeth New Zealand 20–17 Right wing 12 September 1970 Ellis Park Stadium, Johannesburg France 22–9 Right wing 12 June 1971 Free state stadium, Bloemfontein France 8–8 Right wing 19 June 1971 Kings Park Stadium, Durban Australia 19–11 Right wing 17 July 1971 Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney Australia 14–6 Right wing 31 July 1971 Brisbane Exhibition Ground, Brisbane Australia 18–6 Right wing 7 August 1971 Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney England 9–18 Right wing 3 June 1972 Ellis Park Stadium, Johannesburg

Honours Transvaal Currie Cup: 1972

Later life After retiring from rugby Nomis worked in the clothing industry for twenty years before switching to the security industry.