Protea colours for former pupil of NHS
Former pupil of Hoërskool Nelspruit, Richard O'Farrell was recently presented with his Protea Colours in underwater hockey.
He joined the u/23 South African mens’ side at the Underwater Hockey Worlds Competition held in Hobart, Australia, in July.
The team played Argentina, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Colombia, France, Great Britain, Turkey and the USA and placed seventh in a very physical and tough tournament.
O’Farrell, who hails from Komatipoort, discovered his love of water during his first gala in grade one in Komatipoort Academy.
He represented SA Schools’ swimming team for five consecutive years. He also achieved his provisional colours in biathlon for Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal.
When he was not in the water, he was on the hockey field. He played hockey right through primary to high school and played first team in his matric year.
NHS’ sport psychologist, Charl Naudé introduced O’Farrell to underwater hockey in his matric year. It was the perfect combination, as he could practise his love of hockey and swimming all in one sport.
The 23-year-old represented NHS and Mpumalanga at the Junior Underwater Hockey Champs in 2014, and he was vice-captain for the provincial team where he also received his provincial colours.
He joined Tuks and the Gauteng North Underway Hockey team in Pretoria in 2015. He has played in three senior nationals tournaments, but the world champs was his first international tournament.
