AUDIO: Boogieman's meteoric rise from school benches to Bok contender
LISTEN: Jurenzo Julius’ meteoric rise from the Currie Cup and Junior Springboks to an invitation to the Bok alignment indicates that this Boogieman is a serious prospect.
The Sharks centre, affectionately known as Boogieman – even his Instagram account is ama_Boogieman – was also crowned the Junior Springbok Player of the Year at the SA Rugby Awards for his contributions to the Under-20 side in 2024.
The 20-year-old was born in Namibia and grew up in a sporting family with his father and uncles playing rugby.
During his primary school years, he participated in rugby, tennis, athletics, and gymnastics.
The opportunity to move to South Africa came in his grade eight year when he went to Paul Roos Gimnasium, joining the Sharks straight out of school.
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He starred in 13 matches since his debut for the Junior Springboks against Georgia in August 2023.
During these appearances, he scored seven tries, making him a prominent figure for the team and a well-deserved recipient of the Junior Springbok Player of the Year Award for 2024.
The Junior Springbok Player of the Year is Jurenzo Julius 💪#SARugbyAwards #JourneyToGreatness #JuniorBoks pic.twitter.com/eyPENIcMbm
— SA Junior Rugby (@SAJuniorRugby) March 13, 2025
His meteoric rise saw him move straight from the Currie Cup to the United Rugby Championship.
According to the URC stats, he has played nine URC games and already scored two tries this season.
He has made 30 successful carries and nine clean breaks while beating 21 defenders.
Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Julius made no secret that he has had a dream of playing for the Springboks since his childhood years.
Having been invited to the first alignment, he had his first taste of what it is like in the national setup.
He says getting to experience things under World Cup-winning head coach Rassie Erasmus has been awe-inspiring.
At the Sharks he is surrounded by a host of Springboks like Lukhanyo Am, Andre Esterhuizen, and Makazole Mapimpi to name those in the backline with him.
“Lukhanyo has been a really important part of my development.
“We play in the same position and he has been really happy to share the tricks he has. Our relationship has become really strong. He’s among the best centres in the world and I just want to learn as much as possible from him.”
“I need to grow into a world-class player if I want to earn a position in a world-class team like the Springboks,” he said.
The strong running centre has played wing for the Junior Springboks and the Sharks, but for him, center is the position where he is most comfortable.
“I just think I am more comfortable at centre. It’s closer to the action and demands a lot. I like centre more because there is more involvement.”
Sharks coach John Plumtree said he has watched Julius play for a few seasons now.
“He is a good young player. We knew what his capabilities were. He is obviously still a young player and learning the game.
“And it has been a massive learning for him just around understanding in terms of how we want to play the game and how needs to shift what comes naturally for him around his instinct compared to working for the team,” the coach said.
“So that’s the growth for Jurenzo. He has taken his opportunities when we’ve had a couple of injuries with losing Esterhuizen in the midfield and Am has been out quite a lot as well.”
🤯 Sensational Jurenzo Julius 🦈#Rugby365 #CarlingCurrieCup #Sharks #JuniorBoks pic.twitter.com/paQRtP6dLy
— rugby365.com (@rugby365com) July 29, 2024
The Sharks host 15th-placed Zebre in their URC clash at Kings Park on Saturday.
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