In their first taste of international hockey, Fairy Meadow junior Richards and Albion Park-bred Mayo played three Tests for the under-17 Australian Schoolboys, with Australia clinching the series 4-0 in the Third Test.

In front of huge crowds on the eve of the Commonwealth Games, Australia won the first match 4-1, before South Africa struck back with a 3-2 victory in game two, the winner coming after the final bell from a short corner.

Richards and Mayo played in defence and earned their spots after helping NSW win the under-16 Australian All-Schools Championships in Hobart in 2013.

The pair enjoyed tours and cultural visits to a number of major sites in South Africa during the two-week trip.

The teenage Illawarra stars are hoping to make the NSW under-18 team next year, with their medium-term sights set on selection in the Australian under-21 squad.

Meanwhile Kieran's brother Daine, at just age 14, has also been selected in the under-17 Australian Schoolboys squad for a tour of Europe in May 2015.

Daine Richards is a talented striker for Illawarra club Fairy Meadow and will play Test matches against the German, Dutch, Belgium and French sides on a 15-day European tour.

Daine scored six goals for NSW in their run to the final in the under-16 Australian All-Schools Championships, the same tournament in which his brother and Mayo starred in 2013.

Australia is a powerhouse in senior men's hockey, with the Kookaburras the world's top team after winning the World Championships and Commonwealth Games double in 2014.