OD11 digital HR - Flipbook - Page 80
SPORT
In the broadcasting box, South
Africa’s longest-serving rugby Test
match commentator Matthew
Pearce (1987G) marked his 150th
international Test behind the mike
in 2024. He currently has 154 caps.
Also in the SuperSport commentary
team, Nono Pongolo (2007S)
continues life after playing,
calling cricket matches.
For those still playing cricket,
Jono Bird (2019G) and Siya Simetu
(2009S) have been representing
Western Province and the Warriors,
respectively. Two recent ODs,
Kashief Joseph (2024F) and Tiaan
Louw (2024G) are looking to follow
in their professional footsteps:
Kashief turned out for Western
Province Academy against England
U19 in January, while Tiaan has
signed a rookie contract with
Northamptonshire ahead of the
2025/26 English county season
beginning in April. Following Ross
Vintcent’s heroics for the Italian
rugby team, Nikolai Smith (2011O)
is attempting the same for the
Italian cricket team, having played
for them in a 2024 ICC World Cup
qualifying tournament in Malaysia.
Adrian Holdstock (1988O) and
Andy Pycroft (1973F) remain
a respected umpire and match
referee, respectively, in the
highest echelons of the game.
Both officiated at the 2024 ICC
Men’s T20 World Cup in the
West Indies, among other
duties in the last year.
It’s not just the Cassiem brothers
and Ryan Julius lighting up hockey
fields in South Africa; Idrees
Abdulla (2018O) is also making
the SA high-performance
squad these days. And ODs are
showing up across the ages. While
Craig Hall (2001O) has tasted
international success as a master,
winning a gold medal as part of
SA’s over-40s team at the World
Masters Hockey World Cup in
Cape Town last October, the next
78 | THE OLD DIOCESAN
Mustapha Cassiem scored a
remarkable 17 goals at the Indoor
Hockey World Cup in February.
generation is also making strides:
Brett Horn (2022B), Daniel
Neuhoff (2022K) and James
Flint (2022K) all represented
SA U21 during the 2024 season.
In the swimming pool, the
Sneddon brothers did their folks
and Bishops proud, with Brett
(2016M), Ryan (2019M) and Dean
Sneddon (2022M) all earning
selection to the national water-
polo side for the World Aquatics
World Cup from 19 to 21 December
2024. They were joined by recent
school sensation Jordan De Sousa
(2024G). Jordan, who was named in
the prestigious SuperSport Schools
Class of 2024, has set his sights on
Stanford University in California,
where he will begin his studies in
2025. Meanwhile, Michael Houlie
(2018F) continues to make a
splash on the international stage:
representing Team South Africa at
the World Aquatics Short Course
Swimming Championships in
December, he was part of the
mixed relay team that broke the
African record in the 4 x 50m.
In motorsport, Andrew
Rackstraw (2019G) continues
to rev up his professional racing
career, competing in the Porsche
Carrera Cup GB. His team secured
the Rookie title for 2024, with
Andrew setting the most fastest
laps. And on the golf course, Cole
Cruickshank (2015G) represented
Western Province Golf in the
2024 IPT Golf Championship
in September 2024. With the WP
team featuring some of the best
amateur golfers in the country,
his inclusion is no small feat.
Compiled by Steve Riches (2003K)
The UCT Cobras are an internal league rugby side consisting mostly
of ODs, and in 2024 they conquered all before them to be crowned
champions. This is a (possibly incomplete) list of those who played:
Tom Liefeldt (2019F), Josh Michau (2021S), Terrence Pettersson
(2018S), Michael Sun (2022B), Niall Maloney (2020S), James Howard
(2019M), Tomas Slaven (2019B), Mikey van der Merwe (2019B), Jack
Clayton (2019M), Inno Macha (2019F), Nicholas Steinhagen (2022F),
Dan Kirsten (2020G), Michael Richardson (2022M), Matthew Lennett
(2019O), Tom Burton (2018K), Nic Cattell (2019G), James Koster (2019F),
Jake Stewart (2020F), Aidan Brand (2021O), Chris Scheepers (2021B),
Aiden Murphy (2019K), Ryan Sneddon (2019M), Aaron Woodman
(2019B), Liam Rogers (2022G), Cameron May (2020G), Chris Clark
(2019O), Sam Hanssen (2020M), Undi Ngxangane (2020B), Sam
Marthinussen (2020F), Cameron Good (2019S).
