John Dobson praised the potential of scrumhalf Imad Khan, who will make his Stormers debut on Sunday against the Glasgow Warriors.
Khan, who turned 19 in December, has been named to the Stormers’ bench for Sunday afternoon’s United Rugby Championship match against the Warriors in Glasgow, Scotland.
And the teen’s ascent to the senior ranks of the Stormers has been nothing short of spectacular.
He played for Bishops in Cape Town before debuting with the Western Province Craven Week squad and being chosen for SA Schools. Khan was a member of the Junior Springboks last year at the youthful age of 18 years old.
Khan is on the verge of earning his first Stormers cap, and according to Dobson, it will be the first of many for a player who has the potential to become a franchise and national star in the coming years.
“I believe Imad Khan will become a rugby star for South Africa. I have observed him [Khan] play at school and after school on numerous occasions. “I saw him make substitutions for UCT in the Varsity Cup,” Dobson remarked.
“I don’t believe I’ve seen a scrumhalf with his ability – particularly his capacity to alter the course of a game – in a very long time.
“We just got a glimpse at him, and it’s a bit like diving into the deep end. And as much as I desire stability, I wish to provide Khan with experience wherever possible.
“Herschel has a fairly long-term injury, Godlen doesn’t have a long-term arrangement with us, so Imad has to come through at some point, so I thought this was a good opportunity to get him [Khan] on tour, make him feel a sense of belonging, because he has been in a few setups this year, including the WP U20, SA U20, and UCT Varsity Cup setups.
On a voyage such as this, it is crucial that Khan is thoroughly acclimated to our methods of operation.
Sunday afternoon’s encounter between the Glasgow Warriors and the Stormers begins at 5pm [South African time].
»Dobson promotes Stormers’ Khan as a future South African rugby star«