Nicholé Taljaard (born 3 May 1997) is a South African netball player who plays for South Africa in the positions of goal attack and goal shooter.[1] She scored the final goal against New Zealand at the Cape Town International Convention Centre during the 2023 Netball World Cup.[2][3][4]
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Born |
3 May 1997 Cape Town, South Africa | ||
| Occupation | netball player | ||
| Netball career | |||
| Playing position(s): goal attack, goal shooter | |||
She began playing netball at the age of five and has played a variety of sports at her school.[5] She has described herself as an introvert, as she often spends her time staying at home, and she insists she goes largely unnoticed.[6][7]
Career
editShe made her Commonwealth Games debut appearance representing South Africa at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in women's netball competition. She made her senior international debut for South Africa during the 2022 Commonwealth Games in a pool stage match against Wales on 3 August 2022.[8] She was a key member of the South African squad which emerged as runners-up to Australia in the final of the 2022 Fast5 Netball World Series.[9][10][11][12]
She was included in the South African squad for the 2023 Netball World Cup, which was also her maiden appearance at a Netball World Cup tournament.[13] She played a huge part in securing a historic tie for Proteas against defending world champions New Zealand after the end of the full time, with scores read at 48-48 during the 2023 Netball World Cup.[6][13][14] She scored a crucial equalizer in the last quarter of the match against New Zealand at a time when South Africa were five points behind and had only five minutes remaining in the match.[15][16] The tie also meant South Africa was still in the hunt to progress to the semi-final of their home World Cup campaign, provided they beat neighbouring Uganda by a margin of over 50 points.[17] However, hosts South Africa could not progress to the semi-final despite winning their crucial game against Uganda 52–50.[18][19]
She was also signed by London Pulse for the 2024 Netball Superleague season.[20]
References
edit- ^ "Nichole TALJAARD". results.birmingham2022.com. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
- ^ "WATCH: Nichole Taljaard: The love of the crowd lifted Proteas against New Zealand at Netball World Cup". Retrieved 10 February 2024.
- ^ Geehan, Molly (28 September 2023). "NSL stars selected to represent South Africa in test series vs Australia". Netball Super League. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
- ^ Pearson, Joseph (2 August 2023). "Silver Ferns held by South Africa in shock draw at Netball World Cup". Stuff. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
- ^ "NICHOLE TALJAARD | Spar SA Netball | Netball World Cup 2023". nwc.spar.co.za. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
- ^ a b Hemmonsbey, Keanan (10 August 2023). "Proteas goal attack Nichole Taljaard was born for the big moment". Daily Maverick. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
- ^ Butler, Lynn. "Proteas goal shooter Taljaard can take the pressure: 'You're there because you can do it'". Sport. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
- ^ "Birmingham 2022 Netball Pool A match - South Africa v Wales". results.birmingham2022.com. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
- ^ "Fast 5 Netball World Series 2022". Netball Scoop. 4 November 2022. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
- ^ "Fast 5 Netball World Series 2022 - teams". Fast5 Netball. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
- ^ "in NEWS Australia breaks Fast5 drought with historic win". Netball Australia. 6 November 2022. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
- ^ "Australia savour first FAST5 title win". Fast5 Netball. 6 November 2022. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
- ^ a b "Fearless Nicholé Taljaard stands by Proteas to cause New Zealand Netball World Cup upset". Retrieved 10 February 2024.
- ^ "Magnificent Netball Proteas draw World Cup thriller against Kiwis". TimesLIVE. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
- ^ Hemmonsbey, Keanan (2 August 2023). "Proteas Netball World Cup match against Silver Ferns ends in spectacular draw". Daily Maverick. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
- ^ Butler, Lynn. "SA's Taljaard didn't let fear stop her from scoring buzzer goal: 'A lot of trust has been put in me'". Sport. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
- ^ "Hosts South Africa draw thriller with New Zealand". BBC Sport. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
- ^ "iStats/NWC". mc.championdata.com. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
- ^ Butler, Lynn. "Heartbroken Pretorius reflects on Proteas' Netball World Cup: A 'lot of positives' to look back on". Sport. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
- ^ M, Lonwabo (6 September 2023). "Nichole Taljaard Set to Join London Pulse in Her Maiden NSL Season". gsport4girls. Retrieved 7 December 2023.