WATCH: Nichole Taljaard: The love of the crowd lifted Proteas against New Zealand at Netball World Cup

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Published Aug 3, 2023

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‘It was terrifying!’ That’s how Nichole Taljaard described facing New Zealand at the Netball World Cup.

The Proteas and New Zealand played to a thrilling 48-48 draw and Taljaard was instrumental in putting the points on the board for the for the home side, and eventually scored the point that tied the match on the hooter.

She is one of the inexperienced players in the Proteas squad, having not played at a World Cup before, but Wednesday’s night’s performance proved that she is certainly a player who can carry this Proteas team forward.

She says it was a mammoth task taking on the world number one side.

“It was terrifying, I think when the coach gave us the starting line-up and it looked at the wing attack (Gina Crampton) that was playing with me and I said, oh no, oh no, oh no!

“We know we have each other on court, our team was out there, everyone supported each other and we knew we had it takes to pull through.“

The almost sold out arena was made in to a cauldron, as the fans were in full voice and even at times being so loud that the players on court couldn’t hear the umpire.

Taljaard says it’s this enthusiasm from the fans that gave them the extra impetus to get over the line against New Zealand.

“It (fans support) was absolutely amazing. There were times where we couldn’t event hear the umpires calls, because of the noise which one or twice caught us off guard but that’s okay. Just feeling that love is what lifted us and supported us through the entire game.“

The Proteas play their final Group G encounter against Uganda on Thursday. For Taljaard’s team it’s a must win, but no doubt they will have one eye on what Jamaica and New Zealand do in the off chance the mathematical gods are on their side to help them sneak in to the semi-finals.

@AliciaPillay56