Dobson hypes up Stormers’ Khan: He is a future star of SA rugby

John Dobson has talked up the potential of scrumhalf Imad Khan who is set to make his Stormers debut against the Glasgow Warriors on Sunday.

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Khan, who had just turned 19 in December, has been selected on the Stormers’ bench for the United Rugby Championship showdown against the Warriors in Glasgow, Scotland on Sunday afternoon.

And the teenager’s rise into the Stormers’ senior ranks has been nothing short of meteoric.

He played for Bishops in Cape Town, before making his bow for the Western Province Craven Week side followed by selection for SA Schools. Last year, Khan was part of the Junior Springboks squad at the tender age of just 18 years old.

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Dobson full of praise for rookie scrumhalf Khan:

Now Khan is on the cusp of winning his first Stormers cap and according to Dobson, it is going to be the first of many for a player who could potentially play a starring role for franchise and country in the years to come.

“To my mind, Imad Khan is going to be a star of SA rugby. I know I say this quite often but I watched him [Khan] play at school and after school. I watched him change games for UCT in the Varsity Cup,” Dobson said.

“I don’t think I’ve seen a scrumhalf of his ability – especially an ability to change a game – for a long time.

“We’ve just got a chance to have a look at him and it is a bit like the deep end. And as much as I want consistency, where I can I want to give someone like him [Khan] experience.

“Herschel has a reasonably long-term injury, Godlen hasn’t got a long-term arrangement with us, so Imad has got to come through at some stage 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 … the WP U20, SA U20 and UCT Varsity Cup setups.

“So it’s important on a trip like this to get Khan really inculcated in how we work.”

The match between the Glasgow Warriors and the Stormers kicks off at 5pm [South African time] on Sunday afternoon.