Springboks Number Eight Evan Roos Relishes Wales Clash at Twickenham
Evan Roos, the dynamic Springboks and Stormers number eight, is eagerly anticipating his return to international action as South Africa take on Wales in their first Test of the year at Twickenham on Saturday.
The 24-year-old, set to earn his sixth Test cap, expects a fierce and physical battle against a Welsh side determined to redeem themselves following a forgettable Six Nations campaign, where they finished bottom of the standings after losing all their matches.
Roos, who last represented the Boks in their Rugby World Cup warm-up victory against Argentina in Buenos Aires last year, is delighted to be back in the national setup.
“It’s awesome to be back in the team, and everyone is very excited about the match,” he said. “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.”
The Springboks, led by Rassie Erasmus, completed their pre-match preparations in Pretoria on Tuesday, with a 30-man squad set to fly out to London on Wednesday night. Roos, who will line up alongside Rugby World Cup winners Kwagga Smith and Pieter-Steph du Toit in the back-row, praised his experienced teammates, saying,
“I’ll be playing with a bunch of Rugby World Cup winners in the pack, which makes my job much easier.”
The Stormers star is bracing himself for a tough challenge against Warren Gatland’s Wales, who he believes will be determined to leave everything on the field.
“They are a lot like us South Africans,” Roos said. “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.”
With four players set to make their Springboks debuts, Roos is keen for the team to start the 2024 Test season on a high note, which he believes will set the tone for the rest of the year, including the mid-year Tests against Ireland, the Rugby Championship, and a challenging end-of-year tour to the United Kingdom.
“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.”
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