Nicholé Breedt

Nicholé Breedt
Personal information
Full nameNicholé Breedt (Née: Taljaard)
Born (1997-05-03) 3 May 1997
Cape Town, South Africa
OccupationNetball Player
Height1.77 m (5 ft 10 in)
Spouse
Tommie Breedt
SchoolStellenberg High School
UniversityStellenbosch University
Netball career
Playing position(s): GA, WA, GS
Years Club team(s) Apps
202x-2024 Western Cape Southern Stings
2024– London Pulse
Years National team(s) Caps
2022–  South Africa 29
Medal record
Representing  South Africa
Fast5 World Series
2022 Christchurch Fast5
Updated on July 2025

Nicholé Breedt (née Taljaard; born 3 May 1997) is a South African international netball player who plays as GA for London Pulse in the Netball Super League.[1]

She scored the final goal in the Proteas historic draw against New Zealand at the Cape Town International Convention Centre during the 2023 Netball World Cup.[2][3][4]

Early life and education

She began playing netball at the age of five.[5] She was a regular in Stellenberg High School's netball first team and represented the school at national level.[6] Breedt then obtained a BSc in Sports Science as well as a postgraduate certificate in education at Stellenbosch University, where she also played for their varsity netball team, known as the Maties.[7]

Club career

Breedt represented the Western Cape Southern Stings in the Telkom Netball League, South Africa's National league, where she was also named as captain.[6]

London Pulse

Breedt was signed by London Pulse for the 2024 Netball Super League season.[8] She helped the side win their first Super League Grand final in 2025, defeating Loughborough Lightning 53–45.[9]

International career

Junior international career

As an 18-year-old, Taljaard was named in the South African under-21 squad ahead of the youth Netball World Cup the following year but she tore her anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in a Telkom Netball League match require 12 months recovery.[7]

Senior international career

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.[10] She was also 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.[11][12][13][14]

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.[15] She played a huge part in securing a historic tie for Proteas against defending world champions New Zealand which ended 48–48.[7][15][16] She scored the crucial equalizer in the last quarter of the match when South Africa were five points behind with five minutes remaining in the match.[17][18] 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.[19] However, hosts South Africa could not progress to the semi-final despite winning their crucial game against Uganda 52–50.[20][21]

Personal life

Breedt became engaged to long term partner Tommie Breedt in 2021, and married in 2024.[22] She has described herself as an introvert, as she often spends her time staying at home, and she insists she goes largely unnoticed.[7][23]

Honours

South Africa

London Pulse

References

  1. ^ "Nichole TALJAARD". results.birmingham2022.com. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
  2. ^ "WATCH: Nichole Taljaard: The love of the crowd lifted Proteas against New Zealand at Netball World Cup". Retrieved 10 February 2024.
  3. ^ Geehan, Molly (28 September 2023). "NSL stars selected to represent South Africa in test series vs Australia". Netball Super League. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
  4. ^ Pearson, Joseph (2 August 2023). "Silver Ferns held by South Africa in shock draw at Netball World Cup". Stuff. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
  5. ^ "NICHOLE TALJAARD | Spar SA Netball | Netball World Cup 2023". nwc.spar.co.za. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
  6. ^ a b Mitchell, Keagan. "Hard work pays off for Nicholé Taljaard". IOL. Retrieved 8 July 2025.
  7. ^ a b c d Hemmonsbey, Keanan (10 August 2023). "Proteas goal attack Nichole Taljaard was born for the big moment". Daily Maverick. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
  8. ^ M, Lonwabo (6 September 2023). "Nichole Taljaard Set to Join London Pulse in Her Maiden NSL Season". gsport4girls. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
  9. ^ "Netball Super League Grand Final: London Pulse beat Loughborough Lightning to win first title". BBC Sport. 6 July 2025. Retrieved 8 July 2025.
  10. ^ "Birmingham 2022 Netball Pool A match – South Africa v Wales". results.birmingham2022.com. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
  11. ^ "Fast 5 Netball World Series 2022". Netball Scoop. 4 November 2022. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
  12. ^ "Fast 5 Netball World Series 2022 – teams". Fast5 Netball. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
  13. ^ "in NEWS Australia breaks Fast5 drought with historic win". Netball Australia. 6 November 2022. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
  14. ^ "Australia savour first FAST5 title win". Fast5 Netball. 6 November 2022. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
  15. ^ a b "Fearless Nicholé Taljaard stands by Proteas to cause New Zealand Netball World Cup upset". Retrieved 10 February 2024.
  16. ^ "Magnificent Netball Proteas draw World Cup thriller against Kiwis". TimesLIVE. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
  17. ^ Hemmonsbey, Keanan (2 August 2023). "Proteas Netball World Cup match against Silver Ferns ends in spectacular draw". Daily Maverick. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
  18. ^ 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.
  19. ^ "Hosts South Africa draw thriller with New Zealand". BBC Sport. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
  20. ^ "iStats/NWC". mc.championdata.com. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
  21. ^ Butler, Lynn. "Heartbroken Pretorius reflects on Proteas' Netball World Cup: A 'lot of positives' to look back on". Sport. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
  22. ^ "MARK ETHERIDGE: Sporting family reaching for the stars". BusinessLIVE. Archived from the original on 1 November 2024. Retrieved 8 July 2025.
  23. ^ Butler, Lynn. "Proteas goal shooter Taljaard can take the pressure: 'You're there because you can do it'". Sport. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
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