FEATURE
2 MINS 36 SECONDS
An Unforgettable Zoom Chat with Bernard Fridman
Bernard, a teacher at Jeppe Boys in 1978 and 1979, as well as the rugby coach, has many stories to tell. The one that made me listen was when he told me,“ You know I spotted Jake White?” Where he found him though was not at all where I expected.
“ There I was watching hockey practice, when I saw Jake darting around. I shouted across the field,‘ Jake! What are you doing playing hockey?’ His reply was‘ I’ m too small for rugby.’”
Bernard chuckles, pausing for effect.“ Well, I wasn’ t having any of that. I told him to get off the hockey field immediately and threw him into the rugby team at hooker. And you know what? The kid wasn’ t half bad.”
What was a shout across a hockey field led to one of the most successful careers in South African Rugby. As we know Jake White went on to coach the Springboks to a Rugby World Cup victory in 2007. Bernard grins.“ The rest, as they say, is history. Or maybe it’ s just luck!”
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A Jeppe High School Old Boy from the Class of’ 66( Oribi House), Bernard is the kind of guy whose stories could fill volumes. A seriously impressive sportsman in his day, he played scrumhalf for the Jeppe 1st XV, he left me so inspired with all he had to tell me, and now I get to share it with you.- By Richard Laskey, Roving COW
ISSUE 177 | www. modernathlete. co. za
Bernard was a natural athlete, and after his schoolboy rugby days, he turned to road running and, as many South Africans do, he started collecting Comrades Marathon medals. His first bronze medal came in 1972, but it was his race in 1974 and the stance he took that caught my attention.
Bernard ran that year, but he did so without an official entry into the race. Protesting the Comrades Association’ s exclusion of both black runners and female athletes, Bernard ran it unofficially and finished in an incredible 6 hours 31