Neil Robinson
This page has been created to preserve memories and achievements of Neil Robinson, a Club member and friend. At Neil’s Memorial Service held on the 15 February 2013, Sid Brown, a longtime friend and fellow sportman, gave this moving Eulogy:
“I have been asked to tell you a little bit about Neil’s association with Lynwood club on behalf of his many friends. Neil and I both started our bowls careers together in the early 80’s and in those days we were called the youngsters in the club.
Neil had previously enjoyed a successful cricket career where he had been invited to Natal trials as a spin bowler. Less well known is that he and his sister Sharon were also the Eastern Cape Juvenille Ballroom dancing champions. Neil of course soon started to make his mark in the bowls world and became a really outstanding lead playing with the skips of the day and starting to be noticed at district level. Lynwood wasn’t one of the stronger clubs around in those days and it was difficult to be noticed playing for them.
However as we all know Neil was an extremely loyal guy and didn’t believe in changing clubs, so he always played for Lynwood. His first real breakthrough came in the district trips in 1984 when he Noel Smith and Malcolm Parsons won the district trips. This was the first time Lynwood had ever won a district competition in their history and they won the tournament too much celebration. We were all very proud of them but I must just tell you that when they arrived for the first game Neil’s teamates opened their bowls bags to discover that neither of them had brought 3 bowls which you course you require for trips. Those two “beauts” had each only brought two bowls. After much panic and hunting around for replacement bowls they were fortunately allowed to play with borrowed bowls in that first round and the rest as they say is history. Neil then went on to play and win the district pairs the very next year with none other than his Dad Doug and I believe that really launched his bowls career.
These proved to be the start of many competitions that Lynwood won from then on and of course Neil was prominent in a lot of them. He has in fact won every format of District competition since then and many of them multiple times. This even included winning the NIBA Masters singles twice. Neil was also selected for the then Natal A bowls team in 1992 another first for Lynwood and when it changed to Natal Inland bowls he became a regular in the side. In fact in 2011 Neil played his 100th inter district game for NIBA having played every position from lead to skip and there are very few players who can boast a record like that. Honours boards at the club are filled with his name and to list all his achievements in bowls would be impossible.
About 18 years ago his son Brad started playing bowls as an eleven year old and the Robinsons were proudly able to field three generations of their family in a team. Brad continues the legacy and has already been a SA Bowls silver squad bowler and has an excellent playing record. I know how quietly proud Neil was of that.
Neil was a team man who would play hard and then off the green be ready to socialise and enjoy the company of his opponents where his distinctive laugh would resonate in the pub whether he won or lost. In short a true gentleman of the game and one of the better strategists around. His ability to draw a shot was second to none and when playing with his Dad if Dougie jumped into the head and said come on “butch”, draw the shot, you knew that we were in big trouble again and Neil needed to rescue things.
Neil will never be forgotten and his loss is felt very deeply by all of us, he leaves a huge gap in our club and we hold his family in our thoughts and prayers.”
—oOo—
Some of Neil’s Achievements complied by Karl Lieberberg from the years 2005 to 2012:
NIBA : Individual Player’s Records Since 2005 : Name Neil Robinson BSA No. 18146
Year Competition Medal Club
2005 Inter District Open – Third Lynwood
2006 Inter District Open – Third Lynwood
2007 NIBA Open Singles Runner up Lynwood
2007 NIBA Invitation Masters Runner up Lynwood
2007 Inter District Open – Third Lynwood
2008 NIBA Open Trips Winner Lynwood
2008 NIBA Champion of Champions Runner up Lynwood
2008 KZN Open Fours Runner up Lynwood
2008 Inter District Open – Third Lynwood
2008 NIBA Open Singles Quarter Finalist Lynwood
2009 Inter District Open – Third – Runner up Silver Lynwood
2009 NIBA Invitation Masters 6th Lynwood
2010 NIBA Open Fours Semi Finalist Lynwood
2010 Inter District Open – Third Lynwood
2010 NIBA Invitation Masters Winner Lynwood
2011 NIBA Open Trips Runner up Lynwood
2011 Inter District Open – Second Lynwood
2011 NIBA Invitation Masters 7th Lynwood
2012 Inter District Open – Skip Lynwood
2012 NIBA Open Singles Runner up Lynwood
2012 KZN Open Fours Winner Lynwood
2012 NIBA Invitation Masters 7th Lynwood
—oOo—
Bruce Hulett extracted this information from the Honour’s Boards at the Club. This is incomplete and will be updated shortly:
DISTRICT:
1984 Trips
1985 Pairs
1991 Pairs
1993 Fours
1993 Trips
2003 NIBA Squad
2004 NIBA Squad
1992 Natal “A”
1998 NIBA “A”
2000 NIBA “A”
2001 NIBA “A”
LYNWOOD BC:
1981 – 83 Secretary
Winner:
Singles: 1982, 89, 92, 93, 98, 99, 2001, 03
Pairs: 1980, 82, 91, 96, 99
Trips: 1991, 93, 94, 98, 2000
Fours: 1987, 88, 90, 91, 94, 2001
Lynwood Club 