Nicholé Breedt

Nicholé Breedt
Personal information
Full name Nicholé Breedt (née Taljaard)
Born (1997-05-03) 3 May 1997
Cape Town, South Africa
Height 1.77 m (5 ft 10 in)
School Stellenberg High School
University Stellenbosch University
Occupation Netball Player
Spouse Tommie Breedt
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
Last updated: 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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