Riley Norton

Some Lesser Known Facts About Riley Norton

• Riley Norton grew up in Stellenbosch, South Africa.

• Norton is a young sports star making headlines for excelling in cricket and rugby.

• Riley’s father is also a professional rugby player, and played for Maties Rugby from 1991 to 2003.

• Riley Norton is the younger son of his parents. Since childhood, he was keenly interested in both cricket and rugby.

• He attended Rhenish Primary and then Paul Roos Gymnasium, which is known for producing the best players in cricket and rugby.

  

• In his final year at Paul Roos, Riley excelled in both sports, leading to his selection as captain of the First XV rugby team and the First XI cricket team.

• His exceptional performance in the games earned him SA Schools Colours in both cricket and rugby, which is rare since most students concentrate on just one sport at that level.

• In 2023, he was selected for South Africa’s U19 cricket team, where he played in a tri-series against India and Afghanistan.

• He participated in the U19 World Cup 2024 and was recognised as one of the best all-rounders in South Africa.

• In ODIs, he played 8 Youth ODIs, taking 13 wickets and scoring 116 runs, with an average of 38.67 runs. His performance against Sri Lanka was particularly impressive, as he scored an unbeaten 41 runs and took 4 wickets for 28 runs, leading South Africa to a crucial victory.

• Despite his notable performance in U19 World Cup 2024, Riley didn’t sign any senior domestic cricket contract. Instead, he joined Maties Rugby at Stellenbosch University.

• In early 2025, Riley was named captain of South Africa’s U20 rugby team, the Junior Springboks, for the World Rugby U20 Championship in Italy.

• Under his leadership, the Junior Springboks went unbeaten and beat teams like Australia and England by big margins.

• In the semi-final, his team defeated Argentina by 48–24. In the final, Riley guided the team to a narrow victory over New Zealand to lift the trophy that made South Africa’s first U20 world title in 13 years.

• Riley Norton’s performance in both games is compared to South African players Namibia’s Rudie van Vuuren, who notably played in both the Cricket and Rugby World Cups.

• In an interview, Norton stated that he is inspired by Pieter-Steph du Toit in rugby and by Kagiso Rabada in cricket.

• Riley Norton loves travelling and hiking.