Dr Danie Craven, the legendary SARFU president, once said that Bishops’ Michael Ehrentraut was the best schoolboy rugby player he had ever seen. One wonders what sort of superlatives the Doc would have come up with to describe Markus Muller. Muller has been nothing short of phenomenal.
Markus has now scored 33 tries in just 13 matches for Paarl Gim. He makes what most schoolboys his age find incredibly challenging look effortless. Simply put, he is a special talent — a freak of nature.
Gim is edging ever closer to the highly anticipated Paarl Interskole finale against Paarl Boys’ High on 2 August 2025. Destiny may well have it that this final match of the season for both schools doubles as the South African National Championship decider — and in the process, could shatter all existing schoolboy rugby single-match viewership records.
Gim have reached the summit in spectacular fashion this season, with Markus’ contributions playing a pivotal role in their success. His impact has helped them average an astonishing 55 points per game.
| YEAR | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | AVG |
| 2025 | 13 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 709 | 187 | 522 | 55 |
| 2016 | 18 | 16 | 0 | 2 | 810 | 287 | 523 | 45 |
| 2018 | 17 | 15 | 0 | 2 | 756 | 386 | 370 | 44 |
| 2019 | 17 | 16 | 0 | 1 | 715 | 298 | 417 | 42 |
| 2021 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 210 | 37 | 173 | 42 |
| 2022 | 14 | 11 | 0 | 3 | 549 | 257 | 292 | 39 |
| 2013 | 22 | 21 | 1 | 0 | 819 | 231 | 588 | 37 |
| 2015 | 17 | 13 | 1 | 3 | 612 | 255 | 357 | 36 |
| 2023 | 16 | 14 | 1 | 1 | 568 | 222 | 346 | 36 |
| 2024 | 15 | 13 | 0 | 2 | 537 | 268 | 269 | 36 |
| 2017 | 15 | 10 | 0 | 5 | 508 | 311 | 197 | 34 |
| 2014 | 15 | 11 | 0 | 4 | 394 | 215 | 179 | 26 |
| 2020 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 00 |
@Grizzly (Comment #44)
I see your Du Preez twins and raise you Malcolm Marx – in fact they all played SA Schools and SA under 20 together – along with Handre Pollard. Marx played 1st team lock in grade 10, moved to flank in grade 11 and made the SA Academy team, moved to hooker in grade 12 and made SA schools, played SA under 20 and was selected for Boks in 2016 age 22 – after only converting to hooker 4 years earlier – phenomenal achievement for anyone – but for a front ranker !! Shew
@Grizzly (Comment #44)
Ek sien hom gereeld hier by ons golfbaan in Bellville deesdae. Juis laas Saterdag in vierbal agter ons gespeel.
@BoishaaiPa (Comment #40)
Sou wat wou gee om in jou skoene te wees. Danie sal altyd my held wees.
Du Preez twins @ Kearsney. 2 years SA Schools. Unlikely to see that level of physical dominance any time soon.
@BoishaaiPa (Comment #40)
Ja, hy was ‘n handvol vir opponente. Die enigste ou wat ek kan onthou wat hom in bedwang kon hou, was Willie du Plessis, seker die mins besonge van die Du Plessis broers.
@Wondermaar (Comment #39)
Ek sou, soos Pollard, hom in matriek in die o20-span gekies het. Definitief beter as ons senters daar.
@tzavosky (Comment #35)
Ek het Danie as skoolseun vir Hoerskool Despatch sien speel. Hy was fenominaal..Die hele span het om hom gedraai en almal het dit geweet…net nie daai tyd besef wat ek na kyk en wat se speler hy sou uitdraai nie. Ek was rondom St 5 gewees toe.
Kies jom sommer nou voor sy matriekeksamen in Damian ae plek,klink my ook beter Nonu.
Na al die komentaar het ek tot die gevolgtrekking gekom Muller is die GOAT… by a country mile, 2 de Ruben Kruger. Danie sou 10-1 ook daar gewees het maar daars te min eye witnesses hier. Muller sy kloon.
@Smallies (Comment #34)
Ollie Le Roux?
@tzavosky (Comment #35)
Ek het daardie video en die een van Jaco Reinach an seker 20 keer gekyk ,volgens my was hulle die heel beste Bokke van die amateur era en ek glo hulle sou beslis in die era ook Bokke gewees het
@Smallies (Comment #34)
OK, ek is miskien al ‘n bietjie aan die ou kant, maar Danie Gerber het ook 3 jaar Craven week gespeel. Hoewel ek hom nooit op skolevlak sien speel het nie, was hy na skool net fenomenaal vir OP, Vrystaat, WP en natuurlik die Bokke (wanneer hulle speelkans gekry het).
Daar is ‘n baie nice Youtube montage van hom oor sy loopbaan as speler.
@Die_Ramshoring (Comment #33)
Schoolboy Coenie Oosthuisen was also a beast of note,as well as schoolboy Jaques Fourie
@Trots HJS (Tandem) (Comment #18)
Frans Steyn played SA Schools in his grade 11 year and skipped 2005 to play in the U19 World Cup, won by SA. Moved to the Sharks and made his Springbok debut at 19 having only played 10 pro-games for the Sharks. 2007 World Cup winner at the tender age of 20 years and 159 days and a Super 14 Finalist. Should have played >100 Tests
With my own pair of eyes, the best schoolboy rugby player I ever saw was Hacjivah Dayimani Jeppe 2016. I really wish Supersport Schools existed those days so people could see the kind of belittling, borderline disrespect that Hacjivah was inflicting on young men. He made his debut for 1st XV in his Grade 9 year 2013, when I was in Grade 8, in the last game of the season against Marais Viljoen, a small 5 or so minute cameo.
He was just never obsessed with the game, still isn’t now, but is still good enough to be a pro, currently at Racing 92 in the French Top 14 – I think he appreciates the hand that feeds him, always has, and will never bite it. But ja, “Chucks” on his day was unplayable, so many opposition souls he left dejected and empty of motivation.. Did 100m in 11 flat but built like Gladiator, had a deadly step, the stiffest arm if you were in the mood for a 5 star, and a bouncing technique that looked him and the tackler were roleplaying
@ GRASSHOPPER
DEREK LA MARQUE
@Trots HJS (Tandem) (Comment #18)
Joe v Niekerk played for the Boks before even playing senior provincial rugby – he was picked straight outta the SA u21 team in 2001 Played SA schools 1997/98, SA u19 and SA u21 in 2000/2001. The best schoolboy player I ever saw ……….
@Dixon’s (Comment #27)
Hercules Venter and that whole ’04 Monnas team was scary. In my book probably their best team ever
based purely on those who i watched play and based only on what they did as schoolboys, the best rugby player i ever saw was probably Robert Ebershon. another 2 players that stood out for me were Hercules Venter of Monnas (2004???) and Gerhard vd Heever of Affies (2007???), both where the best wings i ever saw at school level,
@Bush (Comment #23)
We finally agree after years…..
@Toffee (Comment #24)
Southern Suburb people always talk about Tank Lanning, Guy Kebble, Dan Vickerman, Hershel and of course Michael Ehrentraut.
Of his generation he is one of the best. Difficult to judge over the decades. I would imagine to be a standout in a great Paarl Gym side is even more of an accomplishment. I am stuck mainly in the Southern Suburbs/Western Cape but players that stood out for me were Peter Kirsten, Leon Karemaker and Nick Koster. When they did not play their school side was nowhere near as good or likely to win.
@Grasshopper (Comment #19)
Dennis Baronet absolute legend.
@Smallies (Comment #20)
Rugbyman, Djou, Rainier en n paar ander sal CJ ken. Hy was amper sy hele senior tyd beseer. Hy was n absolute monster! Om hom te tekel was so goed jy probeer n konkryt bal op spoed tekel. Ek sal enige tyd teen Markus wou speel. Al sal hy my na poeph#l laat lyk, nie teen CJ nie, jammer….
Markus is a phenomenal talent & I have no doubt a future Bok if he can stay injury free. His try scoring record is incredible, however, its slightly skewed as he scores a number of tries from a lineout maul. Last year Kobus performed the role, ripping the ball off the lineout jumper & mauling over the line. Those tries would traditionally be the tries scored by the hooker not quite a try scored by a centre. I don’t recall seeing Jean de Villiers scoring too many of those. Having said that the tries he scores when running with the ball are a great watch as he is such a strong balanced runner & I hope he has a long & successful career.
Die GOAT van skole rugby spelers volgens my is n ou wat nooit enigsing na skool naam gemaak het nie ,Sy naam was Andre Venter, sa skole 1989 90 91….Brendan se kleinboet, hy was eenvoudig in n ander klas as skole speler
Exceptional player but GOAT, is just silly. You can’t compare generations & across positions. I can think of over 20x players from multiple schools who were brilliant at school. Remember this kid is in a brilliant team, sometimes it’s those who excel in an average team that better. It would be quite fun for bloggers to draw up their GOAT teams & compare. Herschel Gibbs, Ruben Kruger, Joel Stransky, Dennis Baronet etc. Most will say Dennis Baronet who? In KZN he shredded teams apart, SA schools in 1985…
Markus Muller is an outstanding, brilliant and exceptional talent and without any doubt one of the best schoolboy players we have ever seen. There were also others but as many of you are saying very difficult to compare individuals if they played in different positions. In the Western Cape we saw Carel Du Plessis , Corne’Krige , Jean de Villiers , Kobus Burger , Schalk Burger , Frans Malherbe , Kitshoff , Herchell Gibbs , Koster , Pollard , Balie Swart , Kobus Wiese etc and the one thing they had in common is that we immediately knew they are going to play for the Springboks even when they were young school boys. GOAT is perhaps something we should only decide on at the end of a players career but for sure we can all agree that Markus is a future star !
He is the GOAT
@buitestaander (Comment #13)
Ek dink jy elimineer dan basies alle voorspelers basies onmiddellik uit die debat uit, want jy kan ‘n SA Skole stut in ‘n gemiddelde span sit en hy sal nie naastenby dieselfde effek kan hê as ‘n SA Skole losskakel of senter in daardie selfde span nie. Dis maar net hoe dinge werk op skoolvlak.
Ek dink ‘n beter manier is om daardie speler met ander spelers in dieselfde posisie as hy te vergelyk en ‘n idee te kry van hoe baie beter hy as daardie spelers is (is hy 10% of 20% beter?). Dis natuurlik ook baie subjektief met die waardes wat jy daaraan koppel, maar dit hou ten minste almal in die kompetisie.
GOAT individuele speler in rugby?? Eerlikwaar?? Sou Markus Muller presteer het soos hy wel doen sonder bv. sy pak voories…I think not. Ek sou veel eerder hierdie gesprek oor ‘n GOAT-span gehad het.
@Hanswors (Comment #12)
Hou ook nie daarvan as daar so n groot ophef oor n seun op skool gemaak word nie, meer gereeld as nie kan hulle ongelukkig nie daai volgende vlak bereik of by hou wanneer hulle uit skool is nie. Dink aan gevalle soos Ashley Johnson, Curwin Bosch, Ebersohn boeties, Johan van Deventer, Stefan Watermeyer, Justin St Jerry, Hercules Venter. Die was almal seuns gewees wat op skool as uitsonderlik goed bestempel was en voorspel was om menigte Springbok toetse te speel maar op die ou end net tot provinsiale vlak gegaan het vir n paar jaar en toe verdwyn het en voor iemand n geval maak oor Ashley en Curwin, hulle albei het nie die potensiaal of vlak bereik soos wat aanvanklik oor hulle geskryf/gese was toe hulle op skool was nie
GOAT
@8 Snelvuur – ek praat nie van Jurenzo nie – ek dink hy het goed gedoen sover…. die speler waarna ek verwys is aan en af….beserings speel ook n rol natuurlik maar ek hou nie daarvan as daar so groot ophef gemaak word van n speler nie.
Daar is n huidige skole agterlyn speler wat die wereld aan die brand speel en reeds gekontrakteer is volgende jaar. Ek wil n voorspelling maak dat hy dalk nog vir 2 jaar relevant sal wees en dan heeltemal gaan verdwyn. Ek hoop ek is verkeerd.
@Farmer (Comment #10)
Dit is ‘n ondeurdagte argument om GOAT status op punte/driee te baseer.
MULLER IS “THE GOAT”
@Rainier (Comment #8)
Ek stem saam dat mens nie na loopbane na skool kan kyk nie MAAR ek dink ‘n ou se prestasies binne ‘n jaar uit skool uit reflekteer darem ook op hoe goed daardie ou op skool was. Op 19 kwalifiseer ‘n ou nog om skolerugby te speel: as hy dan reeds in Super Rugby skrum, dink ek behoort dit in ag geneem te word.
En ek verwys juis na JH Wessels op skool: so goed soos wat hy nou is, het hy nog nie dieselfde level bereik as wat hy vir Grey was nie. Chilliboy was nooit naby so goed na skool soos hy op skool was nie.
@Snelvuur (Comment #6)
Ruben Kruger was ‘n monster op skool.
En om loopbane na skool te gebruik as ‘n maatstaf werk ook nie – Darryl Cullinan was waarskynlik die beste speler wat ek ooit op skoolvlak gesien het, en hy was bang gewees vir Shane Warne.
@Hanswors (Comment #5)
Sjoe, hier moet ek darem opkom vir Jurenzo: hy was op 21 reeds genooi na ‘n Springbok alignment camp toe en het hierdie jaar meer op 13 vir die Sharks in die URC begin as Am…as Muller op 21 dit bereik het, dink ek sou ons almal sê dat hy baie goed gedoen het!
@buitestaander (Comment #4)
Dit is opmerklik dat feitlik almal wat kommentaar lewer oor die beste skolespeler ooit net oor agterspelers praat. Ek dink Kitshoff, Jan-Hendrik Wessels en Chilliboy moet ook in die gesprek wees as die beste skolespelers ooit – die manne in die voorste linie kry nooit die nodige erkenning nie!
Ek hoop van harte dat hy reg bestuur word. Die media kan hom maak of breek. Daar word n helse klomp verwagting geskep deur hierdie tipe berugte en almal verwag elke keer dat hy moet presteer. Ek hoop hy kan stelselmatig groei as rugbyspeler en uitkom waar hy moet.
Daar was so 3/4 jaar terug ook n speler van PRG wat se naam hom vooruit geloop het en nog nie regtig presteer het soos wat daar van hom gese is en verwag is nie.
Daar is vele ander ook maar hy het eerste by my op gekom.
BEST OF ALL TIME
Yoh, GOAT in rugby is almost impossible to determine.
@Snelvuur (Comment #1)
Moet se al baie goeie skole spelers gesien. Die wat egter uit gestaan het was Ruben Kruger, Papier en Julius. Markus die beste wat ek egter nog gesien het. Partykeer lyk dit of hy teen laerskool laaitjies speel. Hoop die beste vir sy toekoms.
Markus is obviously a special, special player, but it’s quite difficult to have the GOAT debate across different positions. If you look at someone like Steven Kitshoff: he played in a Super Rugby semifinal less than a year out of school. As a loosehead. That’s simply extraordinary and something you probably won’t see repeated anytime soon.
What I will say is that Markus seems a more well-rounded backline player than you normally see at school level. He’s not just a try-scoring machine (there are many of those that never make the step up to pro rugby, see, e.g. Nico Leonard at PRG), but he has many more strings to his bow. He’s also a more polished player at 18 than guys like Damian Willemse and Jurenzo Julius were. He’s probably in that rare higher echelon of players like Handré Pollard that could make the step up, properly, to pro rugby very, very quickly.