John Gainsford

I read with sadness the passing of John Gainsford. I watched so many Gainsford performances from the standing area in front of the railway stand. Gainsford could step inside with the best of them....but had the pace and size to crack the outside gap. Many of his tries were winger type corner flagging efforts. A big man for his day...he was one of the early modern centres. 

May he RIP.  He was indeed a great center and a real center.  He knew his rugby as well - remember what he told De Villiers when he was kicking around balls and Gainsford came to visit.  He said to be a Springbok one has to carry the balls - not kick them away.
Would not hav e made the grade with the subsequent playing style entailing aimless and useless kicking away of balls - so admired by Meyer supporters - since he would rarely if ever so the balls to use.     

 I have only a cursory knowlege of the late great Gainsford by he was by any standard a great rugby man and a decent bloke .Another great loss to SA rugby and the rugby world in general .

 John had a sports store in Cape Town central, it's where I bought my sports gear and it's also where I met the big man for the first and only time. Behind the imposing frame was an engaging smile.......I was just a kid then and I left hugely impressed.
RIP John.

RIP John Gainsford. A bit before my time but a player my Dad would always rave about whenever the discussion of great centres came up. 

RIP John Gainsford  ....... yep Denny, I remember the shop where Gainsford & Eric Logan, captain of the mighty Cape Town City soccer team, were partners . Bought my first pair of adidas there .

OuMaaik, you're wrong about Gainsford ..... he was much more than your  bollocks assessment & shame on you using this thread for your online squabbles .

 Geez Blob I'm surprised you can still remember Eric Logan....now that you mention his name it brings back memories. If you don't mind me asking where in CT did you live? And which schools did you attend? I started off at Zonnebloem Primary, spent a year at Ashley Street and then  spent my high school years at Harold Cressy. All three are still going although I think Ashley Street has gone through some changes. On my next visit to SA I hope to have more time so I can stick my neck in there to see how things are progressing.

Denny great to hear that u went to school in Cape Town.
Trust on your next visit u make a point of getting your school fees reimbursed.
With respect to how things have progressed at your old school....guess what.
1. Gone from bad to worse.2. Lowered the pass grade to a level that even u could manage.

Enjoy your day.  

 RIP John Gainsford. I was 12 years old when the Boks played Waikato in Hamilton on the 1965 tour. I remember getting all but 2 of the Boks' autographs that day including Gainsford's.I was greatly helped by one of the Boks who reached out of the shower window after the match and proceeded to hand it round to the entire team in the changing sheds for all his mates to sign. I thought I'd never see the book again and next thing this big arm comes out the window and the Bok says "there you go mate"! Have never forgotten that day!!

Didn't know of him but looked him up & came across this photo. Those were the good old days  RIP & condolences to all who loved him.Springbok center John Gainsford & Colin Meads during the first test

Denny, I'm a Woodstock boy, born & bred .... a stone's throw from the Gem bioscope . Walmer Rd, the street where I lived for ten years hit the news during the apartheid years when the government attempted to separate the races ....... the bloody fools deciding that the demarcation line between the white & coloured neighbourhoods would be the middle of the road, with...... " the houses on the left for whites & 'non' whites the right side . I kid you not . Happily the madness never reached fruition .

Extract from link below;
Lower Woodstock, largely by virtue of its low-income population, became the only suburb of Cape Town during apartheid to remain integrated in the face of its “White” classification under the Group Areas Act. Karen Dudley proudly told me of Walmer Road, where she now lives:  “When Group Areas came along they came down my street and said, ‘This side of the street is white, and this side of the street is black.’ The families living there for all these years said, ‘No […] we’ll just swap houses.”



http://tyglobalist.org/in-the-magazine/features/these-woodstock-walls-inspiration-without-integration-in-cape-towns-thriving-new-creative-hub/

My high school years were spent at a private Catholic school, CBC  .....  thanks to a huge sacrifice by my family, a bursary & the right of admission afforded to a private establishment .

The closest I got to Harold Cressy would've been as a laaitie trailing behind my big bro & his mates who were armed with sticks & stones & on our way to this after school hours 'rumble' close to your alma mater . Fortunately for you oaks some adult came along & chased us away .

 Ah yes, Woodstock, Walmer Estate and Salt river side by side.....those were the days hey? So you would have swum at Trafalgar pool? I was most probably at the other end. Real Estate in Walmer Estate must be worth a mint with the magnificent view of the city and harbor. I worked in Woodstock for a few years, can't remember the street etc and I used to play Table Tennis at one of the schools I've mentioned. IINET the internet provider is located in Woodstock, I'm on a promise to pop in and say hello to the staff on my next visit to the Republic. That reminds me...Oh for a nice piece of pan fried Snoek!...dried isn't bad either or when push comes to shove....a braai with the old faithful...Rooikrans. Lekker ne? What are we waiting for!? Let's go!