Pieter Gysbert Muller (born 5 May 1969) is a former international

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

rugby union player. A

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, he was known for his strength and direct running.

Rugby union career

As a schoolboy, Muller represented Free State at the

Craven Week The Craven Week is an annual rugby union tournament organised for schoolboys in the Republic of South Africa. The tournament started in July 1964, and is named after the legendary Springbok rugby union player and coach Dr Danie Craven. The tou ...

tournaments in 1987 and 1988 and on both occasions were selected for the SA Schools team. He made his provincial debut for Free State in 1990, after spending some time playing club rugby in Ireland for Greystones R.F.C. In 1992, Muller joined

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and was a member of the

Currie Cup The Currie Cup is South Africa's premier domestic rugby union competition, played each winter and spring (June to October), featuring teams representing either entire provinces or substantial regions within provinces. Although it is the premier ...

winning team in

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. He suffered a serious neck injury early in 1995 that required time away from rugby, after which he tried rugby league and spent time in

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playing for

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. In 1997, Muller returned to

the Sharks The Sharks were a rhythm and blues band from Albany N.Y. from early 80's to mid 90's and opened for numerous recording artists such as Tower of Power, Stevie Ray Vaughan. History The band members started by playing cover versions of songs by ne ...

and in 2000 he joined

Cardiff Blues Cardiff Rugby ( cy, Rygbi Caerdydd) are one of the four professional Welsh rugby union teams. They compete in the United Rugby Championship and in European Professional Club Rugby competitions. Based in Cardiff, the team play at Cardiff Arms ...

in Wales. His first test match for the

Springboks The South Africa national rugby union team, commonly known as the Springboks (colloquially the Boks, Bokke or Amabokoboko), is the country's national team governed by the South African Rugby Union. The Springboks play in green and gold jersey ...

was in

against the

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at Ellis Park in

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and he scored a try on debut. Muller played 33 test matches for the Springboks and was a member of the 1999 World Cup squad. His last test match for South Africa was the third place playoff at the 1999 World Cup against New Zealand at the

Millennium Stadium The Millennium Stadium ( cy, Stadiwm y Mileniwm), known since 2016 as the Principality Stadium ( cy, Stadiwm Principality) for sponsorship reasons, is the national stadium of Wales. Located in Cardiff, it is the home of the Wales national rug ...

in Cardiff. Muller also played in 19 tour matches for the Springboks and scored 7 tries.

Test history

Rugby league

In 1996, Muller also had an unsuccessful stint playing for Australian rugby league side

Penrith Panthers The Penrith Panthers are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the western Sydney suburb of Penrith that competes in the NRL. The team is based west of the centre of Sydney, at the foot of the Blue Mountains. Penrith ...

, in the

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, making only a handful of appearances in the two years of his contract. Muller then returned to South Africa and club rugby before once again representing the Springboks.

Accolades

Muller was voted as one of the five Young Players of the Year for 1991, along with

Hennie le Roux Hendrik Pieter 'Hennie' le Roux (born 10 July 1967), is a former South African rugby union player who played for the South Africa national rugby union team. He was the president of the players' union, which was founded in 1997. Career Provinci ...

Pieter Hendriks Pieter Hendriks (born 13 April 1970), is a former South African rugby union player who played for the South Africa national rugby union team between 1992 and 1996. Playing career Hendriks represented the South Eastern Transvaal Schools team at ...

, Johan Nel and

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Personal

He is the brother of Helgard Muller, also former Springboks rugby player. Muller resides in Cape Town (

Hout Bay Hout Bay ( af, Houtbaai, meaning "Wood Bay") is a harbour town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. It is situated in a valley on the Atlantic seaboard of the Cape Peninsula, twenty kilometres south of Cape Town. The name "Hout Bay" can ...

) and is closely involved with the SA Rugby Legends.

References

External links

* 1969 births Living people South African rugby union players South Africa international rugby union players Cardiff Rugby players Greystones RFC players Sharks (Currie Cup) players Sharks (rugby union) players Alumni of Grey College, Bloemfontein Rugby union players from Bloemfontein Rugby union centres {{SouthAfrica-rugbyunion-bio-stub