Local hockey players make history for SA and KZN
Jess Lardant, Chereé Greyvenstein and Jess O’Connor made history for the SA Proteas team and KZN Raiders team.
IT has been an action-packed and euphoric last few weeks for three hockey stars, Jess Lardant from Durban North, Chereé Greyvenstein from Glenashley, and Jess O’Connor from uMhlanga, who have made history for both province and country.
The trio, who were part of the South African women’s indoor hockey team, made history by helping South Africa to become the first African nation to reach the semi-finals of an Indoor World Cup.
They bowed out of the competition, having secured fourth place, and improved on their previous best World Cup finish which was ninth place in 2015.
If that wasn’t enough, all three members of Crusaders Hockey Club then helped the KZN Raiders win their seventh inter-provincial title (IPT) in the last eight years.
Their triumph in Durban saw them secure a third consecutive crown by beating a spirited Western Province Peninsula.
Northglen News recently caught up with the trio to find out about their incredible performances.
Common goal to make SA proud
O’Connor, who led the national team and is the most capped SA indoor women’s player, was full of praise for her charges.
“There are no words to describe the feeling of a stadium filled with South African supporters chanting for you and the team. The fire and passion it ignites certainly made all the difference. I am just so proud of the girls and honoured to have been a part of this team. We had such a great team culture. It might sound cliché, but we all really got on like a house on fire. There was such a good team vibe behind the scenes. We also all had one common goal, and that was to make South Africa proud,” she said.
O’Connor, who co-captained the KZN Raiders Team with Chardinay Penniston to victory a few weeks after the World Cup, said there is plenty of talent coming through the ranks in the province.
“The talent coming through KZN is unreal. I play with girls who play U16 and U18, and they are always challenging me and keeping me on my toes. It is so exciting to see the youngsters coming through and pushing us oldies to do better,” she said.
50 caps for Jess at World Cup
In the process of making history, Lardant earned her 50th cap for the national team in front of a capacity crowd and said the team went ‘above and beyond’ all expectations.
“It was a very emotional and proud moment earning my 50th cap. Having my family there to watch that game and be part of the occasion meant a whole lot more, and to receive it at the World Cup, which is the pinnacle of an indoor hockey career, was the cherry on top of the cake. The experience of being part of the team is indescribable. I got chills every single time I stepped into the arena and onto the court. The fans backing us made us back ourselves, and they are what got us through the difficult stages in games and ensured we pushed until the end and gave it our all,” she said.
Best friends make special memory
Besides being teammates, Lardant and Greyvenstein are also best friends, and that made their history-making run that much sweeter.
“We are both former Danville Park Girls’ old girls, and we’ve been best friends for the past 11 years. I don’t think many people can say they played in a national team with their best friend at a World Cup, and that to me is incredibly special. It was incredible not only getting to play with her [Jess], but we were roomies, as well. It’s something huge, and I hope we have room for another World Cup,” she enthused.
Greyvenstein, who played goalkeeper for the team, also described their World Cup feat as surreal.
“The crowd was just unreal. If you want to know what a team looks like who played with their heart more than anything else, that’s our team. We did the unexpected because we played with so much heart on that field. I must give a huge shoutout to our captain, Jess O’Connor – she really wore her heart on her sleeve, and that made everyone want it a little more with every [subsequent] game,” she said.
For more from Northglen News, follow us on Facebook , Twitter or Instagram. You can also check out our videos on our YouTube channel or follow us on TikTok.
