Junior Bok captain part of rare breed with cricket, rugby double

SPOTLIGHT: Cricket’s loss has been rugby’s gain when young prodigy Riley Norton opted to focus on the game with the oval ball instead of the cherry.

Norton will captain the Junior Springboks against Argentina in the opening round of the Rugby Championship at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Gqeberha on Thursday.

Not only do Norton’s athletic exploits extend to both the oval and rectangular fields, but he also covers both disciplines – as an aggressive fast-bowler as well as a hard-hitting lower-order hitter – on the cricket field.

Riley’s mind-blowing CV at the tender age of 18 includes the SA U19 Cricket World Cup, SA U20 Rugby, Paul Roos Head Boy, and Western Province in both disciplines.

The first-year BCom Investment Management student at Stellenbosch University became only the third sportsman in the past decade to do the double of SA Schools rugby and cricket, who have represented South Africa at school level in both rugby and cricket.

He follows in the footsteps of people like Herschelle Gibbs, Conrad Jantjes, Ruan de Swardt, and Christopher Schreuder.

Gibbs went on to play for the Proteas and Jantjes for the Springboks, while all-rounder De Swardt plays for the Proteas.

In total, 15 school athletes have accomplished the remarkable feat – 11 of them before 2000, with the achievement becoming increasingly difficult with the professionalism of sports programmes in schools in recent times.

Having represented Boland and Western Province in cricket and Western Province in rugby throughout his high school journey, Norton acknowledged that nothing compares to donning national clothing.

“When you put on that jersey, you realise that you’re not playing for yourself anymore. You’re playing for the country, you’re playing for the different cultures, the diverse land.

“It gives you so much more energy you can carry on going, you can go through the tough times because you know what you’re representing and you know what’s backing you and behind you; that’s why I would never ever want to play for anyone else other than South Africa,” Riley said in an interview with Daily Maverick last year.

The youngster followed in his father Chris’ footsteps by joining Stellenbosch University this year. Chris represented Maties at hooker for 12 years from 1991 to 2003 and says the maroon jersey means a lot to him and his family.

When asked by Maties Sport how difficult it was to choose between rugby and cricket, Riley said: “It was tough because cricket has done a lot for me and taught me a great deal. My dad told me to do what I loved, and during matric I realised that I loved rugby just a bit more – the unbeatable camaraderie, the inspiration of the Springboks, and Maties.

“For me it equips you with skills and habits to succeed off the field: commitment to a goal, work ethic, courage. And it also teaches you how to live outside of your own bubble.

“There is so much diversity in rugby that comes together for a common goal. Nothing unites more than sport.”