John Smit has offered Evan Roos some sage advice after the hotshot DHL Stormers No 8 has become the target of off-the-ball niggle aimed at getting under his collar.
In the wake of the Stormers’ victory over Edinburgh last weekend, South African-born Scotland prop Pierre Schoeman said that Roos can expect opposing players in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship to keep trying “to get into his head”.
The 22-year-old Springbok was penalised and yellow-carded for using excessive force while pinning down opposite number Nick Haining with his arm in the neck area.
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Speaking on a URC media call, former Springbok captain Smit was asked how he would deal with Roos.
“I certainly had a few guys in my squad who suffered from the condition of overstimulation,” said Smit with a chuckle.
“I joked the other day because I did a Q&A with Bakkies Botha. I explained to them that when I was in the change room trying to gee the guys up, I would always wait for Bakkies to go to the toilet so he didn’t get the full monty. Otherwise, he would be in a slightly overzealous mood in the first five minutes, which would be to our detriment.
“I don’t think Roos is quite in the Bakkies Botha category. When you think about Evan’s background and history, the Sharks happily let him go, he was sitting in no-man’s land until he had a coffee with Jean de Villiers and the next minute he was training with the Western Province squad, hoping for an opportunity, playing for free.
“A year or so later, he is playing top rugby, making squads and that’s come because he is driven.
“What he has got to be able to do is find some kind of way within him to control that emotion,” explained Smit. “In the modern game, players get away with absolutely nothing, the most aggressive thing we will see in the modern game is somebody grabbing a collar and looking really angry, that’s as tough as it gets.
“Evan can’t lose that passion. He has to be able to just know how to bottle it. You don’t want to tamper with his enthusiasm, but you also have to realise that the emotions you display, when they go out of control, won’t only cost you but also your team.
“That would be my message to any of my teammates. As angry as you get, every time you respond, it diminishes our ability to succeed.”
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