Nichole Taljaard Explained

Nichole Taljaard
Birth Date:3 May 1997
Birth Place:Cape Town, South Africa
Positions:goal attack, goal shooter
Occupation:netball player

Nichole 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]

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

She 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.[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]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Nichole TALJAARD . 2023-12-07 . results.birmingham2022.com . en.
  2. Web site: WATCH: Nichole Taljaard: The love of the crowd lifted Proteas against New Zealand at Netball World Cup. 10 February 2024.
  3. Web site: Geehan . Molly . 2023-09-28 . NSL stars selected to represent South Africa in test series vs Australia . 2023-12-07 . Netball Super League . en-US.
  4. Web site: Pearson . Joseph . 2023-08-02 . Silver Ferns held by South Africa in shock draw at Netball World Cup . 2023-12-07 . Stuff . en.
  5. Web site: NICHOLE TALJAARD Spar SA Netball Netball World Cup 2023 . 2023-12-07 . nwc.spar.co.za.
  6. Web site: Hemmonsbey . Keanan . 2023-08-10 . Proteas goal attack Nichole Taljaard was born for the big moment . 2023-12-07 . Daily Maverick . en.
  7. Web site: Butler . Lynn . Proteas goal shooter Taljaard can take the pressure: 'You're there because you can do it' . 2023-12-07 . Sport . en-US.
  8. Web site: Birmingham 2022 Netball Pool A match - South Africa v Wales . 2023-12-07 . results.birmingham2022.com . en.
  9. Web site: Fast 5 Netball World Series 2022 . 2023-12-07 . Netball Scoop. 4 November 2022 .
  10. Web site: Fast 5 Netball World Series 2022 - teams . 2023-12-07 . Fast5 Netball.
  11. Web site: 6 November 2022 . in NEWS Australia breaks Fast5 drought with historic win . 2023-12-07 . Netball Australia.
  12. Web site: 6 November 2022 . Australia savour first FAST5 title win . 2023-12-07 . Fast5 Netball.
  13. Web site: Fearless Nicholé Taljaard stands by Proteas to cause New Zealand Netball World Cup upset. 10 February 2024.
  14. Web site: Magnificent Netball Proteas draw World Cup thriller against Kiwis . 2023-12-07 . TimesLIVE . en-ZA.
  15. Web site: Hemmonsbey . Keanan . 2023-08-02 . Proteas Netball World Cup match against Silver Ferns ends in spectacular draw . 2023-12-07 . Daily Maverick . en.
  16. Web site: Butler . Lynn . SA's Taljaard didn't let fear stop her from scoring buzzer goal: 'A lot of trust has been put in me' . 2023-12-07 . Sport . en-US.
  17. News: Hosts South Africa draw thriller with New Zealand . en-GB . BBC Sport . 2023-12-07.
  18. Web site: iStats/NWC . 2023-12-07 . mc.championdata.com.
  19. Web site: Butler . Lynn . Heartbroken Pretorius reflects on Proteas' Netball World Cup: A 'lot of positives' to look back on . 2023-12-07 . Sport . en-US.
  20. Web site: M . Lonwabo . 2023-09-06 . Nichole Taljaard Set to Join London Pulse in Her Maiden NSL Season . 2023-12-07 . gsport4girls . en-ZA.