Taking inspiration from the Stormers’ Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry performance last month, star No 8 Evan Roos has promised the team are not there to lose next season, reports DEVIN HERMANUS.
The 26-year-old was speaking at the Stormers’ season launch event and new home and away jerseys unveiling on Tuesday.
He last played against the All Blacks three weeks ago at Cape Town Stadium, where John Dobson’s men held New Zealand to 14-14 before going down 38-21.
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“It’s a funny one; it was the middle of pre-season and there was nothing to play for except the win. It wasn’t a league game, quarter-final, semi-final or final,” said Roos, who’s preparing for the Stormers’ 25 September Vodacom URC opener against Connacht, and ahead of a pre-season clash with the Bulls in Paarl next Friday.
“At half-time, I saw the All Blacks were surprised, a bit wide-eyed. I think if it wasn’t for our two scrumhalves [Imad Khan and Dewaldt Duvenage] picking up injuries, we might have pulled it through. I think the result would have been different.
“That just shows you what this club means to us as a team, how special it is and what we’re capable of. I’m happy I have that, and I’ll take it into the next season.”
Roos starred in the URC and Investec Champions Cup last season, playing 22 matches, starting 21, scoring 14 tries and racking up 1,593 minutes and finishing the full 80 in 14 of those games.
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“We had a great start,” he said, referencing a run of 10 successive wins in all competitions before a mid-season wobble of three successive derby defeats, plus a shock home loss to Connacht in the race to the final eight that cost the Capetonians a home semi-final in the URC.
“The one promise I can make is that every time this team puts on a Stormers jersey, we’re not there to lose. We’re there to compete and get as far as we can.
“This pre-season has been good. We know exactly what we’re really good at. We wanted to build on what we worked on last year,” the nine-cap Springbok added.
“We play every season to win the league, so that’s nothing new. Personally, my goal is just to keep on enjoying it. I think that worked out well last season, so I’ll stick with that.”
Photo: Roger Sedres/Gallo Images
The post Roos: All Blacks were a bit wide-eyed appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.
Taking inspiration from the Stormers’ Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry performance last month, star No 8 Evan Roos has promised the team are not there to lose next season.
The post Roos: All Blacks were a bit wide-eyed appeared first on SA Rugby magazine. Read More
