Paul de Villiers is excited to lead one of the most progressive Stormers lineups in recent years, featuring four former Junior Springboks skippers and 19-year-old Markus Muller.
Muller, who became the youngest player to represent the club last season, will start his first URC match in a new-look midfield pairing against the Scarlets at Cape Town Stadium on Saturday.
Head coach John Dobson made 18 changes to the match 23 that beat the Bristol Bears 49-12 in the Investec Champions Cup last week.
Five-cap Springbok De Villiers will captain the team for the second time in place of the injured Ruhan Nel and run out with fellow ex-U20 captains Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Zachary Porthen and Riley Norton.
World Rugby U20 Championship winners Olly Reid and Yaqeen Ahmed are set to make an impact off the bench.
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“It’s a different challenge, with a younger team, fewer caps and less experience,” De Villiers said. “I’m excited to see what we can do.
“We’ve also got a massive bench and so spoiled in this team, with leaders around me to help if things go a bit hard and we need to make plans.”
Dobson described the next generation of Stormers leaders as “wonderful”, while highlighting Muller’s selection at inside centre and scrumhalf Haashim Pead set for his run-on debut.
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“We didn’t recruit them for the captaincy. It just shows that we’re probably getting one or two things right with our recruitment,” he said. “I feel like it’s one of the most progressive Stormers teams we’ve put up.
“Olly Reid is a player we’re enormously excited about. Markus is going to be a very good 12. I think he can play both at the moment. We obviously like Yaqeen.
“[De Villiers] is a progressive young captain. Zach Porthen has a big future. In terms of a longer-term picture it’s fantastic and not compromising at all on quality.”
Dobson noted the Stormers going forward want to give Boks like Siya Kolisi a break and broaden the player pool, so loose forward Wandile Mlaba could come into contention against Ulster next week.
Ahmed, who started in Edinburgh three weeks ago, will get more opportunities while flyhalf Jurie Matthee (ankle) is expected to be fit for the Sharks game on 5 December.
Photo: Grant Pitcher/Gallo Images
The post ‘Markus is going to be a very good 12’ appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.
Paul de Villiers is excited to lead one of the most progressive Stormers lineups in recent years, featuring four former Junior Springboks skippers and 19-year-old Markus Muller.
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