Cobus Reinach praises Stormers’ next generation

Speaking in a media press conference on Tuesday, Reinach said Ahmed’s age was no longer a concern, given his rugby IQ. Ahmed was the star in the Stormers' 52-40  victory over the Scarlets last weekend, scoring two match-winning tries in the final ten minutes after coming on as a replacement. The 20-year-old is already enjoying a memorable breakthrough year, having made his Junior Boks debut at the 2026 U20 Rugby Championship. He also featured for the Springboks ‘A side. Ahmed has also just been named in Rassie Erasmus' 37-man squad  for the second leg of the Nations Championship in next month.

"Yeah, Yaq [Yaqeen Ahmed] showed his class. He is 20, but he's got a big rugby brain and blood in him. He can play some good rugby, and yeah, age does not really matter anymore. The boys back him, and he backs himself, so that's what's good," said Reinach.

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Reinach has given credit to the franchise’s development pipeline for the role it plays in unearthing young talent and nurturing them through the ranks. Rising prospect Yaqeen Ahmed, Springbok fly-half Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu and loose forward Paul de Villiers are examples of the talent emerging from the Cape-based outfit. 

Another rising talent at the Stormers is former Lions scrumhalf Haashim Pead, the 2025 World Junior Player, who joined the Stormers at the start of the new season. Pead also scored a try in the Stormers’ victory over the Scarlets in his first start of the campaign, earning him the Man of the Match award. Reinach believes Pead has massive talent but says it is ultimately up to the young scrumhalf to determine how far he can go in the game.

"I can't tell you what his ceiling is; that's going to be determined by him. But I can tell you there's a lot of potential, as we all saw whether he is with the U20s, being Player of the Tournament and all of that. So, yeah, he is a brilliant player; he's got a lot of talent, and I think he can take it up to where he wants to, but it's going to be up to him, like all the young players here. They have so much talent, and you can't limit them, but like I said, the work they put in is where they're going to go at the end of the day."