Six month re-set was good for rejuvenated Roos

Every player gets frustrated sitting on the sidelines but the six-month layoff that started for Evan Roos when he underwent a shoulder operation in the middle of last year may have been the best thing to happen to Springbok and DHL Stormers No 8 Evan Roos.

When Roos underwent his operation it was just as the last international season was getting into its stride.

With Bok head coach Rassie Erasmus spreading his selection net in a quest to build depth, it is highly likely that Roos would have added to his five appearances for South Africa and further built his international experience.

Instead he had to watch the Boks win the Castle Lager Rugby Championship and then embark on an unbeaten end-of-year tour from the sidelines, with other players such as Elrigh Louw and then, in the final game of the year, Cameron Hanekom getting their chances to show Erasmus what they could do in the green and gold jersey.

There is such stiff competition among the loose-forwards, and particularly No 8s, in South Africa that it is easy to imagine the 25-year-old Paarl Boys High old boy’s pain. He would have thought that in his period of inactivity he was losing ground.

JUST HAPPY TO BE PLAYING AGAIN

However, Roos didn’t see it that way. At least he doesn’t see it that way from his current vantage point where he can look back after making a positive return to the field for the Stormers in January.

“I am just enjoying playing rugby again. I was out for half a year and it did put things in perspective for me and I am just feeling blessed to be playing again and am living the moment being able to play for the Stormers,” said Roos during a break in the Stormers’ buildup to Saturday’s crucial Vodacom United Rugby Championship clash with Benetton at DHL Stadium.

“I do feel I am in good form and one of the reasons for that is because I am really enjoying being in the moment, staying in the present, and trying to do my best for the Stormers.”

Roos was responding to a question about his Bok aspirations. Ever since he was crowned URC Player of the Year following the Stormers’ triumph in the inaugural season of that competition, he has been in the No 8 discussion.

Although Duane Vermeulen and then Jasper Wiese were the established players in that position, there was surprise in some quarters that he did not get to play more in his debut international season after making his debut against Wales in Bloemfontein in July 2022.

One of his best games for the Boks was a breakthrough performance against England at Twickenham in November 2022, but he was unable to budge the established No 8 duo and was not part of the Bok group that won the Rugby World Cup in France in 2023.

In the meantime, other accomplished No 8s like Hanekom have emerged, while Louw was one of the players who best took the opportunity presented to him by Erasmus in 2024.

LANDSCAPE HAS CHANGED

The landscape has changed though - Wiese is out for the season with injury, Louw is out for the entire year too, and of course Vermeulen has retired from rugby and is now part of the Bok coaching staff. Opportunity does beckon for Roos, and he was part of the first national alignment camp of the year.

He says he is not thinking about that too much, instead focusing on getting the Stormers as far as they can go in this season’s URC, but there is no denying his impressive form and he looks a better allround player than he was before his layoff.

“I was gone long enough that I think people forgot about me so they are not marking me as closely as they used to,” quipped Roos, who scored his fifth URC try in seven games when he barrelled off the back of an attacking scrum to score in the first half against Connacht.

“Fortunately it has been a smooth run back with no complications after my operation. I think the six months off last year did me the world of good. I really came back motivated, rejuvenated and energised to play again.”

Perhaps those words should be noted by those who wonder why the Sharks, with all their Springboks, aren’t always in top form. South African rugby players are on a constant treadmill with the 12-month season that has come about because of the country’s alignment to the northern season at franchise level and the southern season at international level.

Roos may be the perfect example of what a proper break from the game, like overseas players have in their off-season, can do for a player’s appetite and hunger for the game.

BECOMING MORE OF AN ALLROUNDER

In his time away, Roos would have thought about what he’d been told he needed to do by the national coaches, and while he did not go into specifics, it is clear he is applying learnings that make him adaptable to different situations.

Roos was prominent as a ball carrier in the wide channels in the two seasons where the Stormers made back-to-back URC finals, and he still does that when the opportunity presents itself, but he’s also become noticeable for his hard graft in the tight exchanges.

Indeed, there was a point last season that Stormers coach John Dobson used him as an abrasive openside flank playing towards the ball.

“It depends on what’s needed and what type of game it is (what I do on the field and the approach I take),” said Roos.

“If it’s up close and physical, and that is what the team needs you to do, then I will do it. If I need to be in the wider channels and play there, I will.”

Physicality is what will probably be required from Roos against Benetton, who have some big players in the French mould and stated their credentials in no uncertain terms when they beat two time champions LaRochelle in a Champions Cup playoff game recently. A Stormers win will propel them to fifth or sixth on the log, so it is a huge game and a challenge that Roos says he is looking forward to.

“We are expecting physicality and a lot of passion from them. They’re a quality team and have several Italy internationals who all work really hard on the field. We know we are going to have to make a significant step up from what we produced against Connacht last week. Against Benetton that won’t be good enough and we know that.”