DHL Stormers head coach John Dobson said the "new" Evan Roos spearheaded the DHL Stormers 19-16 win over the Vodacom Bulls at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday.
Roos gave a timely reminder to Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus of his abilities with a superb all-round performance and walked off with the official man-of-the-match award after the game. He impressed as a ball carrier, was excellent at the breakdowns and put in some big hits on the defence.
Roos made his Springbok debut on 9 July 2022, against Wales, and started in the number 8 jersey. He is Springbok #924. He has since represented the Springboks in five tests, however, injuries have prevented him from becoming a regular in the Green and Gold.
"Obviously, we missed Gert Smal… And Carel du Plessis, those were two big losses. But Evan stood in well for Gert,” John Dobson joked. “No, I’m being flippant because the injury thing is an issue across all the teams. I felt for the Bulls today, they had three guys go off."
"But Evan is a giant. And what I like about Evan now is he’s not the Evan of two years ago. The hot-headed elements are not there anymore."
"Secondly, he’s so well-marked, isn’t he, and he still does all the yeoman work."
"He’s not doing the crazy breaks that he got and all that a while ago, but he just carries and works and carries and works, and cleans. A much more mature sort of player."
During his Man of the Match interview, Roos said: "I’m a bit tired! A long day, with the rain and all that. Just really blessed to be able to be part of this"
"I think we started well, we owed these guys one after Cape Town. Our whole focus this week was just to start fast, and just be in their faces for the full 80 minutes."
"We lacked that a few times, but I felt that we did that very well throughout the whole game."
"I’m super proud of this coaching staff and the team, and all the back-room staff and everyone at home who made this week special and possible."
