Teenage star Markus Muller is set to make his Stormers debut this weekend with Springbok Damian Willemse backing him to reach great heights in the URC and at national level.
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Stormers utility star Damian Willemse has backed rookie centre Markus Muller to reach greater heights, not just with the Cape side but at national level as well.
Muller is tipped to make his United Rugby Championship (URC) debut at the tender age of 18, much in the mould of Willemse some nine years ago, this weekend when the former champions host the Glasgow Warriors in a make-or-break clash.
The former schoolboy sensation from Paarl Gymnasium has been training with the Stormers for a couple of months. He is set to be unleashed in an important fixture as the team looks to turn their fortunes around following a tough loss to Connacht this past Saturday.
Muller, who already attended a Springbok alignment camp this year, will potentially have some international stars to front up to should he get the nod. With their second place under threat, it’s a must-win final home league match at DHL Stadium (1.45pm kick-off).
“He’s a really tremendous player,” Willemse said on Wednesday.
“Training with him over the last few weeks, you can see what we’ve been seeing at Paarl Gym and at schoolboy level. He is going to learn more as we go along and as he gains experience. I can obviously just help and guide him where I can.
“I really rate him and believe he is going to go far. Not just for this club, but hopefully for the national team as well. I can’t wait to see more of him going forward.”
According to Willemse, the sessions with Muller took him back to when he was a youngster stepping into the Stormers set-up during the Super Rugby years. He made his debut at flyhalf fresh out of school and has gone on to represent the Cape side over 100 times.
He is excited about the opportunity Muller could get.
“I don’t have any advice for him, but just to trust his natural instincts and abilities and to listen to the coaches. It’s great to see the youth, excitement and flair he brings. That feeling of being 18 and alive.”
While the excitement around Muller’s potential inclusion will give the Stormers a boost, they have lost another lock to injury. JD Schickerling picked up a serious knee injury and will be out for the rest of the URC campaign.
It is a tough loss for both the team and Schickerling, who had been playing excellent rugby and commanding the line-outs for the Cape side. His ever-present physicality in defence and ball skills in attack will also leave a hole.
Fellow lock Ruben van Heerden made his first appearance back from injury last weekend and should be able to step in seamlessly. The Stormers can rely on Ben-Jason Dixon to provide cover at lock if needed. At the same time, rookie Connor Evans showed some fight during training on Wednesday when he and flyhalf Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu had a training-ground coming together after a tackle.
Director of rugby John Dobson will name his side on Friday.