Luan Giliomee’s stunning Sharks debut against Munster was the latest chapter in a journey that has been years in the making.
The 19-year-old fullback announced himself in emphatic fashion at Kings Park, scoring a try and playing a key role in a 45-0 Vodacom URC win, underlining his immense potential.
Giliomee hails from Ceres in the Boland and first started making waves at school level for Charlie Hofmyer High where he was instrumental in orchestrating an unbeaten 2024 season.
Giliomee was selected and starred for Boland at age-group level, and truly announced himself at the 2024 U18 Craven Week as Boland went unbeaten.
Despite coming from a smaller, unfashionable rugby school, he was selected for the SA Schools A side.
Giliomee later represented the SA U18 Sevens team at the 2023 Commonwealth Youth Games in Trinidad and Tobago, where the team won a bronze medal.
The Sharks, meanwhile, moved quickly to sign the young star in early 2025 and he helped their U21s win the national title.
Giliomee is a versatile playmaker who plays fullback and flyhalf, and even slotted in at scrumhalf for the SA U19 Academy team against Ireland.
His all-round playmaking abilities were also recognised by the Blitzboks who called him up in late 2025 and he was part of the squad for the SVNS series earlier this year.
At the time, Blitzboks coach Philip Snyman said: “He has actually been watched since school.”
According to Snyman, Marius Schoeman – then SA Rugby’s sevens high-performance manager – identified him.
“Neil [Powell, former Blitzboks coach and director of rugby at the Sharks] and I have been talking about him for a while. We thought now was the right time to get him involved,” Snyman added.
Giliomee scored a memorable try against Spain at the Australia SVNS in Perth.
“He’ll remember that for all of his life.”
Luan Giliomee scores his first try for the Blitzboks
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His coach at the Sharks, JP Pietersen, also believes the youngster is built for the big stage.
“Gilly is a special kid. If you look at his schoolboy history, Craven Week and the Blitzboks, he’s been really good,” Pietersen said in the wake of the impressive win over Munster.
“You can see he’s got big-match temperament. He belongs on that field and never looked out of place.”
MORE: JP hails ‘special kid’ Giliomee
Photos: Steve Haag/Shaun Roy/Gallo Images
The post The rise and rise of Luan Giliomee appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.
Luan Giliomee’s stunning Sharks debut against Munster was the latest chapter in a journey that has been years in the making.
The post The rise and rise of Luan Giliomee appeared first on SA Rugby magazine. Read More
