Duane Vermeulen believes Saturday’s Nations Championship clash against Scotland is the perfect opportunity for Evan Roos to prove he belongs in the Springbok conversation.
Roos has won all eight of his Test caps from the bench and gets the rare chance to start. Vermeulen expects the Stormers powerhouse to make a big impact.
“Obviously you want to give every single guy an opportunity to play,” Vermeulen said.
“It’s Evan Roos’ opportunity to lift up his hand and say I’m also here, so this is probably a good game for him to show his worth and the impact he can have on the game.”
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The Springbok Mobi-Unit coach said Roos has already shown at club level that he can carry a team physically and hopes he brings the same influence in the green and gold.
“If you look at Evan playing for the Stormers, he’s also their big go-to guy so hopefully he can step in to that position and also get us some good go-forward.
“His energy on the pitch is massive, so we’d like to see a lot of that.”
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Roos has faced scrutiny over aspects of his all-round game, but Vermeulen revealed the Bok coaches have been working closely with the loose forward to sharpen the finer details required at Test level.
“He’s a fantastic player with a lot of energy and you can see what he does for the Stormers.
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“But there’s a difference between playing URC and Test match rugby so hopefully we can get him there and he can produce the goods that we are actually looking for.
“There’s a lot of work being put in behind the scenes with Tony Brown, working on the soft skills. Not just Evan, but with every single player.”
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Photo: Richard Huggard/Gallo Images
The post Duane backs Evan to make statement appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.
Duane Vermeulen believes Saturday’s Nations Championship clash against Scotland is the perfect opportunity for Evan Roos to prove he belongs in the Springbok conversation.
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