Bobo's bold prediction for Junior Bok sensation Yaqeen Ahmed

INTERVIEW: Former Springbok centre Gcobani Bobo made a bold prediction on what the short-term future may hold for Junior Bok flyhalf Yaqeen Ahmed.

After setting 2026 Junior World Championship alight and holding his own against the All Blacks in his debut match for the Stormers, Ahmed will have a pivotal role to play for the Capetonians in the 2026/27 United Rugby Championship season.

Ahmed has been named on the bench against Connacht this weekend, with the more experienced Jurie Matthee set to start. Matthee recently returned from injury in a warm-up clash against the Bulls in Paarl.

Should Ahmed impress in the opening block of URC matches as he did against the All Blacks, he could be in the running for higher honours, according to Bobo.

“He’s got a chance, doesn’t he? I think he could be one of those players who becomes a bolter on the [Springboks’] end-of-year tour.

“The world will get to know what type of player he is. For me it’s just the toughness that he has. There’s something about the way he’s just so aggressive in the tackle.

“I mean, he’s a flyhalf, he’s supposed to be the player who you want to stand on the ground for most of the time instead of being on the floor.

“He is such a talent; the way he plays, he suits the modern No.10, the type of player that plays right on top of the gain line.

“He’s got the physicality, a great skill set, footwork, speed and kicking game. He’s got a chance to upset a few of the senior players.

“Sacha [Feinberg-Mngomezulu] has got to look out for his number.”

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Bobo further highlighted what the Stormers’ shortcomings were in the past few seasons and how it should be addressed to ensure a successful season.

“There’s a massive mindset shift the Stormers need to make. If you think back to when they won the inaugural URC title, they had a bit more balance in their game.

“They could play the pressure game, they could go to their forwards where they got a lot of love from their scrum who constantly earned them penalties with that front row consisting of Steven Kitshoff and Frans Malherbe and they had a solid driving maul.

“I found that in the last two years they lost a bit of shape and have been a bit impatient with their kicking game; that filtered across their whole playing pattern.

“They especially got compromised at the breakdown, although they do have fetchers, but they’re not protecting their own ball to recycle it and give themselves more of a chance on attack.”

Bobo added that the Stormers’ overreliance on moments of brilliance to win games won’t be enough, and suggested that better structures should be implemented to create opportunities for those game breakers to do their magic.

“The Stormers do have individual stars, but I’d love to see them not leaning on their individual brilliance, but using their structures to allow those stars to shine.

“That requires their attacking shape to have more consistency and have their playmakers playing their roles and their strike runners running at the right places.

“So that’s where I feel they and all South African teams need to start and sharpen up and set themselves up in a way that it doesn’t matter if you don’t have the ball, but that they do use their chances when they do have it [in transition play].

“That’s how you win away games, and knockout matches away from home. You have to use those opportunities although the conditions might not be favourable.

“If you have that go-to game plan and attacking shape, you can give yourself a chance; that’s the evolution that we’re looking forward to.”

The Stormers will conclude their mini European tour against Edinburgh before returning home to face the Sharks in their first home match of the season at DHL Stadium.