Stormers Sign Group Of Local School Rugby Stars“This speaks to our aim as an organisation of harnessing the talent we have on our doorstep and strengthening the connection with our fans by contracting players from their communities to take our team forward.”
Paarl Gimnasium centre Markus Muller is one of several top schoolboy players to pledge their futures to the Stormers, adding strength to the Cape franchise’s youth pipeline.
Muller has been in sensational form this season, scoring over 20 tries, including four hat-tricks and three braces, and is widely tipped to earn the SA Schools No 13 jersey later this year.
SA Rugby Magazine reports that joining Muller in committing to the Stormers are a host of standout talents: Paarl Gim loose forward Quintin Potgieter; Rondebosch’s Alutha Wesi (loose forward), Randall-John Davids (centre), and Matt van der Merwe (prop); Paul Roos trio Jordan Steenkamp (wing), Altus Rabe (hooker), and Gert Kemp (loose forward); Wynberg flyhalf Yaqeen Ahmed; Boland Landbou scrumhalf Jayden Brits; and Grey College lock AJ Meyer.
Stormers director of rugby John Dobson reaffirmed the union’s commitment to nurturing local talent as a cornerstone of their development model — a strategy that has already paid dividends with Western Province U21 securing back-to-back national titles.
“This speaks to our aim as an organisation of harnessing the talent we have on our doorstep and strengthening the connection with our fans by contracting players from their communities to take our team forward.
“Of course, we still keep an eye on the most promising players from around the country and will make strategic acquisitions from outside the region if we feel they will make a big difference.”
Dobson added that the strong group of Western Cape schoolboys joining next year is a promising sign for the Stormers’ future depth and success.
“We have seen a few big success stories in recent years, with the likes of Damian Willemse, Salmaan Moerat, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, JD Schickerling and Suleiman Hartzenberg all coming through our system to become household names.
“We expect the same to happen with many of these players who will join our environment next year and we are not done here, with a few more significant names set to be added to this list in the near future.”
