FEATURE: 'Future star of SA rugby' Khan is embracing his dream with Stormers

The man who was predicted to be a future star of South Africa by DHL Stormers coach John Dobson when he first selected him as a teenager says he is feeling excitement rather than pressure as he looks forward to his first taste of playing in a Vodacom URC playoff game.

Dobson hasn’t selected his team for Saturday’s quarterfinal against Cardiff, but with Cobus Reinach out injured, 22-year-old Imad Khan is considered a certainty to continue the senior rugby education he started when Dobson selected him into his match day squad for an away clash against Glasgow Warriors when he had only just turned 19 by wearing the No. 9 jersey.

“To my mind, Imad Khan is going to be a star of South African rugby. I know I say this quite often but I watched him play at school and after school. I watched him change games for UCT in the Varsity Cup,” said Dobson back in January 2023 as Khan prepared for his first taste of URC rugby by playing off the bench.

“I don’t think I’ve seen a scrumhalf of his ability, especially an ability to change a game, for a long time. We’ve just got a chance to have a look at him and it is a bit like the deep end. And as much as I want consistency, where I can, I want to give someone like him experience.”

Like his fellow product of Bishops Diocesan College, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Khan has been universally regarded as a future international star since his final years at school, with his selection to the South African Schools side being followed by elevation to the SA under-20 team (Junior Springboks).

FEELING THE EXCITEMENT RATHER THAN PRESSURE

It may feel like Khan has taken longer to come through, but then he only turned 22 in December. Feinberg-Mngomezulu, who was a year ahead of him at school (Sacha made the SA Schools team in 2020 and Khan in 2021), turned 24 in February. Injuries and a well-thought-out conditioning programme were what stopped Khan playing more than he has already for the Stormers, but this has been his breakthrough season and he says he’s loving it.

“I have always dreamt of playing here at DHL Stadium and being on this field and playing for this club at a high level,” said Khan after a training session at Saturday’s match venue.

“So it may sound funny to say, but yes, while there is pressure, it is what I have been wanting to do all my life, so I’d say it's more an excitement thing for me (than a pressure thing). I am taking the moment in rather than calling it pressure. It is so fun to be playing with your mates and throwing the ball around.

“Yes, of course there is pressure along with it, but I am just enjoying it and that takes the pressure off,” he added.

Apart from Feinberg-Mngomezulu, there are a few other old boys of Bishops who were around more or less the same time as he was. Suleiman Hartzenberg, who made his Stormers debut in the same season as Khan, is the same age as him, and lock Connor Evans is also a Bishops alumnus.

GREAT CHEMISTRY WITH SACHA

The Covid pandemic prevented Khan from playing a full season with Feinberg-Mngomezulu in the now Springbok flyhalf’s matric year.

“We played together in the last Newlands Day (in 2020) against Paarl Gim, but then Covid intervened and the rest of that school season was cancelled, so we just played one game together in the blue jersey,” recalled Khan.

“But now luckily we have been reunited at the Stormers and we have a few other Bishops old boys here so there is a good vibe between us.”

The way he dovetails so well with Feinberg-Mngomezulu in their respective halfback roles, you’d have thought they’d played more than one school game together. Khan agrees there is a special chemistry between them.

“I think that chemistry comes from us both being Bishops boys. It is really cool to be alongside him on the field. He is a world-class player and having a world-class, experienced player with so much flair alongside me takes a lot off my shoulders,” said Khan.

“So I just have to do my job, which is put the team first and help the guys around me do their job. Communication is the key to Sacha and I being in synch on the field. Through all the chaos and noise on the field I somehow always hear him and find him. It is so helpful to hear that driver’s voice behind you. We find each other on the field and hopefully that carries on and allows others around us to find each other. We are starting to feel that connectedness.

“I think the connection is important. The same applies to Jurie (Matthee, the other Stormers flyhalf). We are well connected both on the field and off the field and we understand how we want to play. That is where freedom comes in, the connection gives us the opportunity and ability to play what is in front of us.

“It is hard to explain. You hear the voice and you also feel the presence. You just find your guy. It is something you train and something we have been working on for a long time so whether it is Jurie, or Sacha, who both have brilliant attacking abilities, or whether it is Damian (Willemse) or Warrick (Gelant) up as first receiver, it doesn’t matter. If you have watched the Stormers play, you will know that it is how we play, everyone can swap in. It is fluid and how we train.”

LEARNING A LOT FROM REINACH

Had it not been for the injury Springbok first choice Reinach picked up against Glasgow last month, Khan would have been serving a back-up role in the game against Cardiff. He says he is learning a lot from the experienced World Cup winner, which is one of the reasons that Dobson lured Reinach to the Cape.

“Cobus is a world-class player so being alongside him in the changing room is insane,” said the young scrumhalf.

“I try to grab stuff from all the players. Stef (Ungerer) is also a hugely experienced player, Dewies (Dewaldt Duvenage) is someone I have learned a lot from when it comes to the technical side of things.”

Reinach is not involved on Saturday, but Khan is taking advice from him and says: “We are going into the playoffs now so it is a lot about driving the team in the right direction. It is very cool to be picking up stuff from someone like Cobus.”

A TIMELY WAKEUP CALL AND CHANCE TO SET RECORD STRAIGHT

Like when you speak to other members of the Stormers squad who were involved in the 22-16 loss to Cardiff last time out and who will also be involved in the return on Saturday, Khan gives the impression that the result in that game might have been a helpful wakeup call ahead of the playoffs.

“The game in Cardiff was a big wakeup call for us. That was our last league game and we know in the playoffs there is no time for mistakes. You don’t often get an opportunity to play the same opposition back to back so we took a lot of learnings from the game in Cardiff that we can take into this game. We feel lucky to have the opportunity to set the record straight.

“Our work around the breakdown is definitely one of the key points we’ve worked on over the last two weeks. Every game has those contact points that you need to dominate, so it starts at dominating collisions overall. The 4G surface (we played them on over there) has a different feel and brings a different element of the game, but we will definitely be looking to secure the ball and protect possession a lot better than we did in Cardiff.

“We have had chats around our attack too. Putting points on the board is important and that comes from scoreboard pressure. One of the points we work on is contact point. In playoff rugby every point matters, whether it is three, five or seven. We want to get as much on the board as possible.”

HOME CROWD WILL BRING EVEN BIGGER LIFT THAN FAMILIAR PLAYING SURFACE

As he was talking, Khan was standing on what looked like a particularly lush DHL Stadium playing field, which will be far removed on Saturday from the fast, bouncy 4G surface that the Stormers admit they struggled with at Cardiff Arms Park. However, while he is looking forward to being back on grass, Khan feels playing in front of his home crowd will be the biggest bonus of all.

“There is a big difference between 4G and grass, but end of day we are here to do a job and rugby is rugby so the main thing really is just playing at home,” Khan explained.

“There is no travelling, you’ve got your home crowd. We want to play quick rugby whether it is on grass or 4G. Playing away from home is always tough because you experience the way the crowds uplift their teams overseas, it is quite hostile. When things are not going your way, you can definitely feel that. So being able to play at home and not on 4G is insane..

“But crowd is a massive thing. We hear them and they uplift you and we play for them, so to have a full stadium would be the pinnacle for us. I played in the (Champions Cup round of 16) game against Toulon but this is my first taste of a URC playoff game and I am really looking forward to it.

"It’s all about playing good rugby and winning for this union. The win is the main thing, winning is what will make Cape Town smile.”