Zille an 'inspiration' for Ikeys

Western Cape Premier Helen Zille was an eager spectator at Monday's UCT v Pukke Varsity Cup match, with Ikey Tigers head coach John Dobson labelling her an 'inspiration' afterwards.

Zille (pictured, right at the game at UCT on Monday) presented the entire Ikey Tigers squad with their match jerseys before the game - after receiving an email from Dobson during last week.

The Premier was in fine form during the handout ceremony and the UCT players clearly responded to her inspirational pre-match message.

"We were truly honoured to have had Helen Zille to do the pre-game honours for us," Dobson told varsitycup.co.za.

"As a coach I try to mix things up a lot to keep the guys interested every week, but I have never seen them quite as focused before a game as the Premier delivered her pre-match message to them. It was a very inspirational talk and one I am sure the players will remember for a long time."

To top it all off, Zille - voted the World's Mayor of the Year in 2008 - sent an email to Dobson early on Tuesday morning thanking him for the opportunity to addreess the Ikey Tigers.

A very thankful Ikeys coach concluded: "The Premier wished us luck for the rest of the season, but made a point of also asking for our fixture list for the rest of the season!

"We'd be honoured to have her back at the Green Mile at our next [home] game and I want to thank her, sincerely, for sparing us the time in her very hectic daily schedule."

By Howard Kahn