Top talent celebrated at Bay awards presentation
False Bay RFC president Dr. Gareth "Doc" Jones and veteran Luke Jacobs, who received the Jennings Cup, which is awarded for dedication and commitment to the club.
Image: Supplied
Jon Harris
Motorvaps False Bay RFC held their annual awards dinner at The Bay, in celebration of the game, camaraderie, friends, and a successful 2025 season. Hosted by Club Captain Adam Odendal and attended by more than 200 players, partners, coaches, and management, the event recognised individuals and teams for their success on and off the pitch.
False Bay head coach, Ashley Wells, a man never at a loss for words and a powerful dynamo in driving the motor that is on-field club spirit, addressed the gathering, his skill in lifting the mood higher than the roof of the marquis, coming in handy.
The Constantia club has enjoyed a very successful field across the board as False Bay First XV won the Team-of-the-Year award for their third-place finish on the WPRFU Super League A table. The club’s veterans team, The Crocs, received the Chairman’s Award. This band of merry, on-their-way-to-old men, epitomise the ethos of the game. Their reward for participation is the camaraderie they enjoy and their club pride, which is only surpassed by their drive to help and assist organisations in need through their community involvement and donations.
Luke Jacobs, pictured here with ball in hand during his side's WPRFU Super League A quarter-final fixture against SK Walmer, played his fiftieth match for the first team a few weeks earlier and was duly honoured for his commitment and dedication at the club's awards presentation, at the weekend.
Image: Gavin Withers Photography
Veteran Luke Jacobs, who played his fiftieth match for the first team a few weeks earlier, received the Jennings Cup, which is awarded for dedication and commitment to the club by a player. Jacobs received a cacophony of hoots, whistles, and applause from the audience, testimony to his popularity.
The loudest response for a recipient was reserved for young “Franco-Saffer”, Elio Dawson, the Second XV Captain. Dawson’s father, Murray, packed down for Natal when the Sharks were still sardines, in the early 80s. He faced the mighty Western Province in the 1984 Currie Cup final at Newlands. He later moved to Paris, where he carved out a highly successful career at Racing 92.
Murray married a French mademoiselle, and later, Elio was added. This mischievous imp may well appreciate that description, his zest for life impacting those around him to such a degree that he was elected by his peers to captain the Bay’s Second XV for the season. He was duly rewarded for his dedication with a First XV cap later in the season.
- Jon Harris is a member of False Bay RFC
Darren Jaftha and First Team manager, Greg Hayes, at the False Bay RFC awards ceremony at the weekend.
Image: Supplied
Club president Doc Jones with False Bay RFC supporter-of-the-year, Deryck Allen, a member of the 1972 Grand Challenge winning team.
Image: Supplied
From left, False Bay RFC chairman Kevin Lennett, most-valued-player-of-the-year, Elio and his father Murray Dawson share a light moment at the club's annual awards presentation, at the weekend..
Image: Supplied
Pictured are False Bay RFC under-20 squad members, from left, Sean Brown, Cole Janse van Rensburg, Ethan Rogers, and Thomas Newman. The under-20s, under coach Kwakhona “Kwaks” Ngwanya, are a vital feeder system for the club's senior teams, with head coach Ashley Wells frequently calling them up when needed.
Image: Supplied