Evan Roos: Springboks are ‘willing to go to dark places’ as star prepares to return with a ‘bang’

Evan Roos is relishing the opportunity of returning to action for the Springboks when they take on Wales in their first Test of the year at Twickenham on Saturday.

The Springboks and Stormers number eight, who is set to make his sixth international appearance, said he expects a tough and physical battle against the Welsh, who will be determined to give a good account of themselves against their opponents following a forgetful Six Nations campaign in which they finished at the bottom of the standings after losing all of their matches.

The Boks completed their preparations in South Africa with a training session in Pretoria on Tuesday before a 30-man squad of players named by head coach Rassie Erasmus fly out to London on Wednesday night. Meanwhile, the players excluded from the travelling squad, will return home.

The 24-year-old is set to win his sixth Test cap after last representing the Boks in their Rugby World Cup warm-up victory against Argentina in Buenos Aires in August last year and is delighted to return to the international arena.

‘Massive responsibility’

“It’s awesome to be back in the team, and everyone is very excited about the match,” said Roos. “We want to build on what the team has done in the last six years, so there’s a massive responsibility on us to start off this weekend with a bang.”

He is part of an exciting back-row alongside Rugby World Cup winners Kwagga Smith and Bok captain Pieter-Steph du Toit.

Roos sang the praises of his fellow forwards, seven of which who will feature against Wales were part of squad at last year’s global showpiece in France, where the Boks beat their arch-rivals, New Zealand, in the final to lift the Webb Ellis Cup for a record fourth time.

“I’ll be playing with a bunch of Rugby World Cup winners in the pack, which makes my job much easier,” he said. “I’ve known these guys for about three years, and it certainly gets more comfortable each time I’m in camp.”

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The Stormers star is bracing himself for a tough assignment against Warren Gatland’s troops on Saturday, especially after their poor overall form in the Six Nations earlier this year.

“They are a lot like us South Africans,” said Roos. “They are hard-working and humble people, so we expect them to give everything for the full 80 minutes.

“Much like us, they are willing to go to dark places, so we are anticipating a hard grind up front.

“They are a physical pack, so I think it’s going to be a proper Test match this weekend.”

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Keen to start on a high note

Roos feels it is important to start the 2024 Test campaign on a high note to set the tone for the rest of the season, which includes the mid-year Tests against Ireland in South Africa, the Rugby Championship, and a challenging end-of-year tour to the United Kingdom in November.

“It’s an important Test, so it will be vital to implement what we’ve been working on at training,” said Roos. “Every team plays to win, so we’ll definitely do our best this weekend and try to make it as easy as possible and special for the guys making their debuts.”

The four players on debut are Jordan Hendrikse (fly-half), Edwill van der Merwe (wing) – who have been included in the starting XV – Ben-Jason Dixon (utility forward) and Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu (utility back) – who will feature off the replacements bench.

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