Syd Nomis

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. In 1961, and again in 1962, Nomis was selected to play for the Quaggas, an invitational South African team styled after the Barbarians. He spent his provincial rugby career at the Transvaal Rugby Union, for whom he was first selected in 1963. == Springbok career ==

Uncapped tours Nomis played 29 uncapped matches on tours with national sides, 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. 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. == 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. ==See also==