Paarl Gim runs riot at SACS
Fresh off a 40-0 win over Hoërskool Belville in their last outing, SACS faced a different beast in Cape Town on Saturday.
Their visitors were Paarl Gimnasium, widely regarded as the best team in South Africa in 2025. The previous weekend they had overrun Bishops 50-0.
Gimmies were the hot favourites and it didn’t take long for them to show why.
They opened the scoring in the third minute of play. After attempting a rolling maul just 10 metres from the SACS goal line, the maul went to ground, but the ball was knocked backwards. Scrumhalf Mickyle Booise snapped it up, saw an opportunity, and sped through space to score. Paarl Gim captain Markus Muller added the extras.
In the 14th minute, Gim again profited after a rolling maul. When the ball was knocked back to Booise, it went through a series of quick phases, which ended when the industrious lock Migael Turner was put through a gap for five. Muller added two points from the kicking tee.
In the 22nd minute, SACS got one back. Deep inside the Gim 22, the home side hit it up before their big tighthead Qiraan Hermans, ploughed through for five a try. As Mikey Skeeles attempted the conversion, the ball, for a second time, fell over. He picked it up and calmly slotted a drop kick to make it a seven-point play.
Gim was soon back to bossing the contest, however. Two minutes later, when Muller saw space, he went full throttle, running 60 metres to score a try.
Then, off a lineout on the SACS 22m line, Gimmies swiftly moved the ball flat down the line, where eighthman Alain Voges was put through a gap to score under the poles. Muller slotted the conversion.
With halftime imminent, SACS booted the ball downfield after turning over possession on their goal line. That didn’t turn out well.
The ball was collected by the speedy left-wing Thomas Saunders, who ran towards the opposition forwards, then grubbered the ball forward. He collected it and made it all the way to the five-metre line before offloading in the tackle for flank Jean Dreyer to stretch over for a try. With the conversion, Muller added another couple to his tally.
At halftime, Paarl Gim was large and in charge, leading 33-7.
It took Gimmies only 27 seconds of the second half to add to their tally. After SACS fielded the kick-off and booted the ball downfield, the visitors launched another scything counterattack.
Making the ball do the work, they fed it down the line. Muller, their talisman in the midfield, ran diagonally to draw in the defenders before popping a sweet inside ball to wing, Jeraahno Jagers, who stepped his man and ran in behind the poles. Muller made the easy conversion.
The hits kept coming for SACS. After receiving quick ball from a ruck inside the hosts’ 22m area, Saunders used his blistering pace to cut the line and score five. Yet again, Muller converted successfully in the 42nd minute.
Then, with a quick tap-and-go inside the SACS 22, Booise gave a short pass to Dreyer, who burst over the line with defenders wrapped around him. Muller’s good day with the boot continued.
In the 54th minute, from a scrum on the hosts’ five-metre line, Paarl Gim flyhalf Louis Koen ran a scissors move with the Muller, who raced down an inviting alley to score another try, which he followed with a quick drop-kick for the extras.
It was one-way traffic as Paarl Gim kept bolstering their total. From a scrum on the SACS 22, they sent the ball down the line, putting Saunders through a gap for his second. With another accurate kick, Muller made it 9 from 10 off the kicking tee, which rubbed further salt into the home team’s wounds.
A tap-and-go in the 64th minute brought further reward for Gim, who hit it up through a series of phases before again breaching the SACS try line through Christiaan Burger. Reserve fullback Divan Pieters, added the extras.
There was more to come in the last minute of the game, even though Gim had sent on their reserves by then. An attack that was started inside their half finished with the visitors crossing for their twelfth try, scored by reserve scrumhalf Nicolaz Burger. Pieters scored the last two points of the game from the kicking tee.
Full-time score: 82-7 in favour of Paarl Gim.
Gimmies shone with their individual brilliance and team chemistry alike, completely outplaying SACS. Boland Landbou will be weary of the Paarl Gim storm blowing their way next Saturday.
SACS faces another tough opponent next Saturday when they host Wynberg Boys’ High.
Scorers
Paarl Gimnasium 82 (33) – Tries: Markus Muller (2), Thomas Saunders (2), Jean Dreyer (2), Jeraahno Jagers, Mickyle Booise, Alain Voges, Migael Turner, Christiaan Burger, Nicolaz Burden. Conversions: Markus Miller (9), Divan Pieters (2). SACS 7 (7) – Tries: Qiraan Hermans. Conversion: Mikey Skeeles.
Results
U19 – SACS I 7 Paarl Gim I 82; SACS II 7 Paarl Gim II 52; SACS III 5 Paarl Gim III 52; SACS IV 0 Paarl Gim IV 90; SACS V 0 Paarl Gim V 58; SACS VI 15 Paarl Gim VI 41.
U16 – SACS A 10 Paarl Gim A 30; SACS B 12 Paarl Gim B 20; SACS C 39 Paarl Gim C 7; SACS D 0 Paarl Gim D 40.
U15 – SACS A 0 Paarl Gim A 59; SACS B 14 Paarl Gim B 14; SACS C 12 Paarl Gim C 19; SACS D 12 Paarl Gim D 17.
U14 – SACS A 3 Paarl Gim A 29; SACS B 0 Paarl Gim B 71; SACS C 0 Paarl Gim C 48; SACS D 0 Paarl Gim D 78; SACS E 0 Paarl Gim E 48.
