Roos rampant as Rassie sees the light

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Another telling contribution from Evan Roos in an important Stormers victory appears to finally have caught the eye of Rassie Erasmus.

The rampaging Stormers No 8 powered over for a try in the final minute of a 32-7 bonus-point victory against Glasgow Warriors in Cape Town on Friday night.

It capped off an eye-catching performance from 22-year-old Roos as John Dobson’s men stormed into second place in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship.

Roos is what Rassie is looking for

Roos has been in red-hot form in 2022, yet was controversially overlooked by Jacques Nienaber for the first of two recent national alignment camps, the Springbok coach explaining his omission on the basis of experience and the limited Tests remaining before the world champions set off to defend their title at the 2023 Rugby World Cup in France.

Bok selectors give form players the cold shoulder

The snub sparked a debate over the merits of the loose-forward options available to the Boks, and the case for Roos’ selection was made based on a comparison of his URC stats in relation to the likes of incumbent Duane Vermeulen and fellow young gun, Elrigh Louw.

Yet, Erasmus appears to have warmed to Roos, SA’s director of rugby showering the talented loose forward with praise for his efforts against Glasgow at Cape Town Stadium.

Mark Keohane concurred with these sentiments in his blog that there are 17 Tests for the Boks before their title defence in France, which is more than enough time to develop a winning habit while still selecting youngsters such as Roos.

Dobson needs no convincing based on his comments after scalping Glasgow.

“Evan was superb. The way he was attacking them in the second half off nine… that’s the thing about Evan, he does the hard carries. It’s incredible. He was superb, again. I am sure his rewards will follow.”

Bok fans pick Roos and Louw

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Zelim Nel