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.<\/p>\n
At 18 years, 9 months, and 19 days, Muller will break Damian Willemse\u2019s record as the youngest Stormers debutant, becoming just the second player to represent the franchise before their 19th birthday.<\/p>\n
Why now is the right time for Junior Springbok Markus Muller<\/p>\n
The centre has been making waves in South Africa<\/a>, catching the eye with his performances for Paarl Gimnasium, and fresh out of school, he started training with the Stormers<\/a>\u2018 senior squad.<\/p>\n 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\u2019 alignment camp earlier this year.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n But before he links up with Kevin Foote\u2019s squad, Dobson felt that it was important for the youngster and the Stormers that he made his United Rugby Championship<\/a> debut.<\/p>\n \u201cWe wanted to play Markus this season; we wanted to play him against the Dragons, but we didn\u2019t see him because he was at the SA U20 camp,\u201d the Stormers boss told reporters after naming his matchday 23 to face Glasgow.<\/p>\n \u201cLook, he is a great player. It\u2019s important to show that at the Stormers, if you come through, we will give you an opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n Stormers end Damian Willemse experiment, Springboks prospect breaks all-time record and Sacha celebrates milestone versus Glasgow Warriors<\/a><\/p>\n Injury creates opportunity for teenage sensation<\/p>\n While injuries have also created the chance for Muller to pull on the Stormers\u2019 jumper, Dobson had to restrain himself from overhyping the youngster.<\/p>\n It\u2019s 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\u2019t overexposed.<\/p>\n \u201cJohnny Roche has just come back from a long injury, and he could do 40 plus a few last week \u2013 he\u2019ll be back in the mix shortly. Josh Boulle is also just back from a very, very long injury,\u201d he continued.<\/p>\n \u201cMarkus is fit, and I just think it\u2019s the right thing to do. We have gone for a 5-3 split so we can protect him to a certain degree. Look, he\u2019s a very, very special player, and we really want him to have one exposure.<\/p>\n \u201cWe could have been conservative and say it\u2019s 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\u2019t had any experience, so it\u2019s just about that, trying to get him some experience.<\/p>\n \u201cWith 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\u2019s an exceptional rugby player.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2018I can\u2019t wait to see more of him going forward\u2019 \u2013 Damian Willemse makes bold claim on Springboks prospect who is set for Stormers debut<\/a><\/p>\n Limiting his game time<\/p>\n Dobson\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are various options. Our plan for Markus tomorrow would be just to give him some experience, so he\u2019s probably not the first guy on,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n \u201cLet\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u00a0don\u2019t want him to go off to the U20 championships when we\u2019re going into the Currie Cup, and he hasn\u2019t had this experience.\u201d<\/p>\n