Play-off pressure excites Stormers rookie
Stormers rookie scrumhalf Imad Khan is on the verge of the biggest test of his young career when the Cape Town franchise hosts Cardiff in their United Rugby Championship quarterfinal at DHL Stadium on Saturday.
The 22-year-old addressed the media this week ahead of the Stormers’ high-stakes last-eight clash, with all signs pointing towards him wearing the No. 9 jersey following Cobus Reinach’s injury setback.
Despite his age, Khan has emerged as one of the bright sparks in the Stormers setup this season, producing impressive performances in both the URC and Champions Cup campaigns.
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His display against the Dragons particularly caught the eye. The former Junior Bok played an instrumental role in two Stormers tries with sharp decision-making near the goal-line, creating scoring opportunities for Damian Willemse and Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu through quick thinking and accurate support play.
“This will be my first URC play-off game,” Khan told reporters at DHL Stadium.
“I’m really excited to put my best foot forward.
“Obviously waiting to see how the team looks, but hopefully I can be involved.”
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Khan faces competition from experienced scrumhalf Stefan Ungerer for the starting role, but his ability to inject tempo and unlock defensive lines has added another dimension to the Stormers’ attacking game.
The youngster said he has benefited enormously from learning alongside seasoned campaigners such as Reinach, Ungerer and Dewaldt Duvenage.
“Cobus is a world-class player. So, being alongside him in the changing room is insane. Obviously, I try to grab a lot of things from all the players.
“Stefan’s also a hugely experienced player. Duvenage and I work a lot on the technical side of things.
“He obviously teaches me a lot of technical things around scrumhalf play.
“But obviously you’re going into the play-offs now and it’s a lot about driving the team in the right direction.
“So, it’s very cool to be able to pick up things from those world-class players around me.”
The Stormers head into the quarterfinal after an inconsistent finish to their URC round-robin campaign, which included a draw against Ulster and a 16-22 defeat to Cardiff at Arms Park a fortnight ago.
Khan admitted the loss in Wales served as an important warning ahead of the play-offs.
“Cardiff [away from home] was a big wake-up call for us,” Khan said on Wednesday.
“That was our last league game, so going into the play-offs, there’s no time for mistakes. We don’t often get to play the same opposition back-to-back, so we definitely analysed the previous game and took some learnings from it.
“Now it is about executing that, and we have an opportunity to make things right. Playing away from home is always tough. You experience the way the crowds uplift their home team, and they are quite hostile in that tight stadium. So, when you play overseas, you definitely feel that.”
Having recently played on the 4G surfaces in Ireland and Wales, Khan believes returning to DHL Stadium could provide a significant boost for the Cape side.
“It is a big difference. But at the end of the day, rugby is rugby, so we have to do our job.
“I think I wouldn’t even say it’s the 4G and the grass. I’d say it’s just playing at home. There’s no travelling, you’ve got your home crowd.
“We want to play quick rugby, whether it’s on grass or 4G. So that’s the main thing – play good rugby at home and win this quarterfinal.”
Born in Cape Town, Khan also called on his fellow Capetonians to pack out DHL Stadium for the massive play-off encounter.
“We want to make Cape Town proud,” Khan stated.
“Crowds really uplift you. So, a full DHL Stadium is an experience that you can’t describe.
“And it’s really cool to be able to play rugby in front of your hometown crowd and your hometown fans. We really want to encourage everyone to come out to support the Stormers because that’s who we’re doing it for.
“Hopefully, we can make you all proud.”
