Director of rugby John Dobson cannot hide his excitement around teenage sensation Markus Muller, who is in line to make his Stormers debut against the Glasgow Warriors.
At 18 years, 9 months, and 19 days, Muller will break Damian Willemse’s record as the youngest Stormers debutant, becoming just the second player to represent the franchise before their 19th birthday.
Why now is the right time for Junior Springbok Markus Muller
The centre has been making waves in South Africa, catching the eye with his performances for Paarl Gimnasium, and fresh out of school, he started training with the Stormers‘ senior squad.
Muller also represented Western Province at u19 level, played for SA Schools, and has been selected for the Junior Springboks for the U20 Rugby Championship that kicks off on Monday. Most surprisingly, he was invited to the Springboks’ alignment camp earlier this year.
But before he links up with Kevin Foote’s squad, Dobson felt that it was important for the youngster and the Stormers that he made his United Rugby Championship debut.
“We wanted to play Markus this season; we wanted to play him against the Dragons, but we didn’t see him because he was at the SA U20 camp,” the Stormers boss told reporters after naming his matchday 23 to face Glasgow.
“Look, he is a great player. It’s important to show that at the Stormers, if you come through, we will give you an opportunity.”
Injury creates opportunity for teenage sensation
While injuries have also created the chance for Muller to pull on the Stormers’ jumper, Dobson had to restrain himself from overhyping the youngster.
It’s a big ask for such a young player to play at such a high level, but the Stormers boss believes that he will have the right players around him to succeed with Dobson altering his usual 6-2 bench split, opting for a 5-3 split to ensure that he isn’t overexposed.
“Johnny Roche has just come back from a long injury, and he could do 40 plus a few last week – he’ll be back in the mix shortly. Josh Boulle is also just back from a very, very long injury,” he continued.
“Markus is fit, and I just think it’s the right thing to do. We have gone for a 5-3 split so we can protect him to a certain degree. Look, he’s a very, very special player, and we really want him to have one exposure.
“We could have been conservative and say it’s a top-of-the-table clash, the next game, unfortunately, Ulster will be a must-win, whatever happens tomorrow, and then the game after that will be a must-win, whatever happens. Then we get through the whole season, and Markus hasn’t had any experience, so it’s just about that, trying to get him some experience.
“With the 5-3 split, we can control it. Another reason why [this week] is we have Ruhan and Dan there, so touchwood, but if something goes wrong during the game to one of them, at least the other one is there to help him. It felt like the right thing to do for the union; he’s an exceptional rugby player.”
Limiting his game time
Dobson’s plan is for Muller to get onto the pitch for the last 10 or 15 minutes of the must-win clash against Glasgow and with a 6-2 split, the coach has limited the risk of him being forced into the mix too early in the game.
“There are various options. Our plan for Markus tomorrow would be just to give him some experience, so he’s probably not the first guy on,” he added.
“Let’s say that Damian goes down early, Juree goes on, and Sacha to 15, no problem whatsoever. Dan goes down early, Sacha to 12, but I want him to have 10 or 15 minutes at a high level, so that he is a Stormer.
“I don’t want him to go off to the U20 championships when we’re going into the Currie Cup, and he hasn’t had this experience.”
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Combinations to face Glasgow Warriors
Overall, Dobson is pleased with his squad selection after stating earlier in the week that the coaching team had to get it right for Glasgow.
“The loose forwards are an established combination and have done really well for us,” he remarked.
“Losing JD is a big blow for us. A lot of our success in the early parts was based on the lock roster, when you could start with Salmaan and Ruben, and we could bring out JD Schickerling and Adre Smith on 45 minutes.
“I said it a couple of weeks ago, but front-row stocks are so good that it doesn’t really matter who starts. Dan and Ruhan are tracking to overtake De Wet [Barry] and Marius [Joubert] as a combination for the Stormers.
“Wing has been an issue for us without Seabelo [Senatla], and Suleiman [Hartzenberg] has had issues and hopefully gets another game with the U23s, but I’m very happy with the team.
“I think Markus… We don’t want to overhype him, but there’s something special there, something really special.
“We had to go five 5-3, but I think it’s an exciting team. We put ourselves under pressure.”
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