PAARL, SOUTH AFRICA - AUGUST 16: Markus Muller (Captain) of South Africa during the U18 International Series match between South Africa and England at Paarl Gimnasium on August 16, 2025 in Paarl, South Africa. (Photo by Grant Pitcher/Gallo Images)
Stormers boss John Dobson explained his selections for Saturday’s crunch one-versus-two United Rugby Championship clash against Glasgow Warriors, saying 18-year-old Markus Muller deserved an opportunity.
Also, Damian Willemse’s return to fullback was influenced in part by widespread criticism of him playing on the wing.
The teams meet at Cape Town Stadium (kick-off 1.45pm) in the third-last league phase match before the play-offs. The Stormers are only four points behind Glasgow and could retake pole position with a win.
In naming his team for the match, where flyhalf Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu is due to make his 50th appearance for the club, Dobson said his 5-3 bench split was designed to provide support for Muller, who will become the youngest-ever Stormers player, while meeting the need for lineout options amid a lock injury crisis.
’10 or 15 minutes at a high level’
“We wanted to play Markus this season, and we wanted to play him against the Dragons. But we didn’t see him because he was in the SA U20 camp,” Dobson said of the former SA Schools centre.
“He’s a great player and we wanted to show that if you come through at the Stormers, you’ll have an opportunity.”
The Stormers coach said they only had must-win games left if they wanted to finish top of the log, and so now was as good a time as any for his debut. Injuries to centres Jonathan Roche and Joshua Boulle had little to do with it.
“I don’t want to overhype him, but there’s something special there.” He said if Muller had a bad day, they could have Feinberg-Mngomezulu or one of the other centres replace him.
“I want him to have 10 or 15 minutes at a high level. I don’t want him to go off to the U20 Championships and we go to the Currie Cup, and he hasn’t had this experience.”
Willemse strong at wing as well as fullback
Dobson reiterated, as he did last week, that Willemse was never going to play at wing forever. This was a tactical choice against Edinburgh, Toulon and Connacht.
“I think if one looked at the technical things, Willemse made more carries than Dan du Plessis last week, and in the contestable game, I think we won 75% to nought. I’ve never seen that before.”
“He played exceptionally well on the wing. I think we all know wing and fullback are interchangeable.”
However, the Stormers boss acknowledged that Willemse’s Springbok career was largely hinged on him playing fullback.
“I’m also aware it’s deeply unpopular,” Dobson said. “I know of the public perception and how much trouble we’ve got into for playing him on the wing.”
