Blowout, Whitewash, Shutout, Goose Egg, Donut… Hammered.
All are sporting terms used to describe a team that has been so comprehensively outplayed that they fail to even get on the scoreboard. Rugby History has seen its fair share of brutal thrashings—like Namibia’s infamous 142-0 defeat at the hands of Australia in the 2003 Rugby World Cup. Painful to watch.
But now, the 2025 North vs South Tournament has delivered another jaw-dropping result: Paarl Gimnasium running riot against King Edward VII School (KES) with a crushing 102-0 victory. While Namibia’s defeat to Australia might be understandable, what makes Paarl Gim’s performance so remarkable is that KES is no minnow in South African schoolboy rugby.
KES, a school steeped in rugby tradition, ranked in the top 10 last year and even defeated Jeppe, who had managed to beat the mighty Grey College. The Johannesburg school has produced five Springboks, including multiple World Cup winners Bryan Habana and Malcolm Marx. Yet, despite their rich pedigree, they found themselves on the receiving end of an unanswered century—a margin of defeat almost unheard of at the first-team level. It made the 2024 90-3 drubbing of Outeniqua by Grey College seem insignificant in comparison.
A Performance for the Ages
First Half: Relentless Pressure from the Outset
From the opening whistle, Paarl Gim signaled their intent with a devastating attacking display. Their forward pack dominated collisions, providing a rock-solid platform for their electric backline to exploit. Fly-half Divan Pieters orchestrated proceedings with precision, his pinpoint kicking and slick distribution carving open KES’s fragile defense.
Within the first ten minutes, Paarl Gim had already crossed the whitewash three times, leaving the Johannesburg outfit shell-shocked. The wingers were in imperious form, using blistering pace and evasive footwork to pile on the points. Outside center Marcus Muller bulldozed over twice from rolling mauls, underlining his side’s forward dominance.
By halftime, the scoreboard read 38-0—a grim reflection of KES’s inability to match Paarl Gim’s relentless intensity.
Second Half: No Mercy as Paarl Gim Run Riot
Despite reshuffling their lineup after the break, Paarl Gim showed no signs of relenting. Their substitutes seamlessly continued the onslaught, exposing KES’s fatigued defense. A ruthless masterclass in support play and finishing saw the hosts reach the century mark.
One of the standout moments came from Hendré Van Zyl, a forward who sprinted from halfway to score a try that summed up Paarl Gim’s sheer dominance. The final dagger was driven home when Rahno Jager dotted down the last try, completing the massacre. When the final whistle blew, the scoreboard’s 102-0 tally told the story of complete and utter supremacy, while KES’s players were left visibly dejected after a humbling afternoon in Paarl.
A Historic Scoreline
Blowouts in schoolboy rugby aren’t unheard of—Grey College’s U15D team once dismantled Glenwood 221-0 in 2017, and Western Province U21 humiliated Eastern Province U21 173-0 in the 2018 SA Rugby U21 Championship. However, at the first-team level, a 100+ point margin between two major schools is almost unprecedented, making Paarl Gim’s feat even more extraordinary.
A Wake-Up Call for Schoolboy Rugby?
This match will be talked about for years—not just for Paarl Gim’s brilliance, but also for the discussions it will spark about competitiveness in elite school rugby. While Paarl Gim’s excellence deserves full credit, such a heavy defeat raises important questions:
- Should such lopsided matches be allowed to continue?
- Are blowouts unsportsmanlike, or are they an inevitable part of competition?
- Should a mercy rule be introduced to prevent teams from suffering such extreme losses, or does that shield players from the realities of elite sport?
Some argue that a winning team should not be penalized for their dominance—competition exists to determine the best, and losing, no matter how severe, is part of the process. Others believe that excessive scorelines can damage a team’s morale and impact long-term player development.
Regardless of where one stands on the issue, one thing is clear—Paarl Gimnasium’s 102-0 annihilation of KES is one of the most dominant performances in South African schoolboy rugby history.
Final Score: Paarl Gimnasium 102 – 0 KES
