The Chef's biggest order: Dad's All Black dilemma

INTERVIEW: Beyond the tactical battle between the Stormers and the All Blacks lies a remarkable human story.

Yaqeen Ahmed’s debut represents the fulfilment of a dream denied to an earlier generation. His father, Aloudien Ahmed, was an outstanding scrumhalf whose path to elite rugby was blocked by apartheid. Now he watches his son face one of the sport’s greatest players, Beauden Barrett, in a moment that celebrates talent, perseverance and progress.

Rugby365 contributor Adnaan Mohamed takes a closer look at this father-and-son dynamic.

The finest dish on Yaqeen “The Chef” Ahmed’s rugby menu may prove the hardest for his father to swallow.

On Friday night, as the 20-year-old Stormers flyhalf makes his much-anticipated debut against the All Blacks at DHL Stadium, Aloudien Ahmed will find himself caught between two lifelong loves. One beats with the pride of a father watching his son step onto rugby’s grandest stage. The other has worn black for as long as he can remember.

One dream is being served. One allegiance is being tested.

“It remains to be seen,” Aloudien laughs when asked whether he can finally cheer against New Zealand.

His answer captures a story that stretches far beyond one historic fixture.

“It’s almost as if the stars are aligning for Yaqeen. I am very proud and very excited,” Ahmed told Rugby365.

“He couldn’t have asked for a better debut because he is going to play against the best in the world. When Yaqeen was young, he idolised players like Beauden Barrett and Richie Mo’unga. He wanted to be like them. Now he gets an opportunity to play against one of his childhood heroes, Beauden Barrett.”

Sometimes rugby scripts stories that even Hollywood would reject as too perfect.

The boy who copied Barrett’s sidestep in the backyard now stands opposite the two-time World Rugby Player of the Year, charged with steering the Stormers through one of the franchise’s biggest occasions.

The apprentice is suddenly sharing the kitchen with the master chef.

Yet this story did not begin with Yaqeen.

Long before The Chef learned to season a game with vision, timing and fearless ambition, his father was slicing through defensive lines as a gifted scrumhalf for Hamediehs Rugby Club. Those who watched him still compare his style to the legendary Joost van der Westhuizen. His pass fizzed, his support lines sparkled, and his competitive fire seldom cooled.

His rugby recipe deserved a larger stage.

Apartheid ensured that opportunity never arrived.

“At that time, it didn’t matter how good we were. We were denied opportunities to play at the highest level,” said Ahmed.

“Making the WP Disa’s side was as far as we could go.”

The Western Province Disa side represented talented coloured and black players whose ambitions collided with barriers built far from the rugby field. Talent simmered while opportunity remained locked in the pantry.

Ahmed represented the Disa side from 2000 to 2002, although countless gifted players before him endured the same reality during apartheid’s final decades and its lingering structural effects on rugby pathways. Many careers were left half-cooked before they reached full flavour.

His family’s rugby pedigree runs even deeper.

“My older brother Nazeem Ahmed, who played flyhalf, centre and fullback for Hamediehs, made the coloured WP Schools and SA Schools side.

“I think Yaqeen is similar to my brother because he can play in more than one position.”

That versatility has become one of Yaqeen’s signature ingredients. Whether orchestrating play at flyhalf or adapting elsewhere in the backline, he blends composure with creativity in a manner that has excited Stormers coaches for several seasons.

Now his biggest examination comes against rugby’s most decorated brand.

Standing across the halfway line will be Barrett, owner of 145 All Blacks caps, a World Cup winners’ medal and enough highlights to fill an endless rugby cookbook.

Remarkably, Barrett has already embraced the occasion.

“With him and Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, the Stormers are in good hands going forward,” Barrett said.

“The success of the Springbok Under-20s in recent times has been superb.

“I feel honoured that he looked up to me. As All Blacks, we’re always trying to inspire kids across the world, not only in New Zealand.

“It’s pretty cool that we have a chance to go head-to-head. I’ll certainly make sure I chat to him and have a cold drink with him after the game because he’s certainly the future.”

Those words landed like the perfect garnish on an already unforgettable occasion.

Yaqeen was six years old when Barrett first dazzled Cape Town during the Hurricanes Super Rugby tour in 2012. Fourteen years later, the youngster who once admired the New Zealand magician from afar now can write his own chapter.

Alongside dynamic scrumhalf Imad Khan, Ahmed forms one of the youngest halfback pairings entrusted with steering the Stormers against an All Blacks side rediscovering its trademark attacking rhythm under Dave Rennie.

Barrett believes that style has returned to New Zealand rugby.

“It’s our DNA and how we like to play. There’s a nice free-flowing element to it.”

Across the scrum, All Blacks scrumhalf Cortez Ratima is equally eager for the challenge.

“I’m stoked and extremely grateful to get a first opportunity to play with Beauden. There’s no one else I’d rather be on the field with. The reception here in Cape Town has been unreal.”

Ratima expects the Stormers to deliver their customary physical edge and believes the kicking battle will be decisive.

For Aloudien Ahmed, though, tactics fade into the background.

“If Yaqeen manages to help the Stormers beat the All Blacks, I’ll accept the defeat graciously,” he said.

“I had so many calls from friends asking me who I’m going to support now. My answer was that I support both teams, but on this occasion, I must support my son, obviously as his father.

“I never had the opportunity to play at the highest level, but I am elated that my son is now getting the opportunity to play.”

It is a sentence that carries generations of hope.

On Friday night, one father will watch the dream that apartheid denied him arrive wearing a Stormers jersey.

His heart may still carry a touch of black.

His pride will be painted blue.