Evan’s Almighty Storm Sinks the Bulls
Evan Roos needed the biggest of derby matches to make a statement to Springboks coach Rassie Erasmus – and the statement was ALMIGHTY, writes Mark Keohane.
A season ago the DHL Stormers monthly magazine had Roos, powerful and potent, as the cover feature. It read: Evan Almighty … Roos ready to bring the Fire.
Roos, at Loftus Versfeld, in Pretoria, brought the Storm and the Fire in what was his most impressive Vodacom United Rugby Championship outing in some time.
Roos has never been poor in the URC, but he has at times been inconsistent, and that explosive, dominant performance that shows dog, difference and as much emotional rugby intelligence as it does raw intensity is what he produced in the Stormers’ 19-16 win against the Vodacom Bulls.
How Keo called the Stormers win:
Roos, having produced a strong second half in Cape Town against the Bulls a few weeks ago, lost out to his fellow Paarl Boys High No 8 Cameron Hanekom in a thrilling derby the Bulls edged 33-32. Hanekom was explosive and expressive, from the opening kick-off in Cape Town and the younger of the two Paarl Boys High old boys triumphed in result and individually as the Man of the Match.
It affirmed Roos’s standing as being behind Hanekom in the national pecking order, despite having made his Test debut in the same season Hanekom made his URC debut two seasons ago.
Hanekom was absent at Loftus, his hurt calf muscle the issue, but Roos did his old school proud with an imposing performance in which his error rate was low and his contribution was high.
Roos carried effectively, led through attitude and presence, but most significantly he won the big moments, on attack and in defence. He dominated with his carries and produced the most telling of defensive turnovers in the final few minutes of a one score match.
DHL Stormers coach John Dobson has always emphasised the qualities of Roos and he has always encouraged his No 8 to play the situation and to back his talents. Dobson has defended an error rate as to be seen in the context of how much Roos does and how many involvements feature his name.
Dobson’s message to Roos has always been to trust his instincts but to also embrace his maturity as a player who no longer is the new kid on the block.
In Pretoria on Saturday evening Roos played as if content with himself and not as one wanting to prove a point to others. It was his most complete performance of the season and his most significant.
He was the Man of the Match in a derby that delivered intensity, physicality and quality in the face of the almost obscene playing conditions.
The win is big for the Stormers fight for a URC top eight play-off. The defeat is a setback for the Bulls aspirations of a top two finish, but not of a top four placing. At least not for now.
What will irk Bulls coach Jake White is that his charging Bulls dropped two out of three derby matches at home and it will irritate him that this is the eighth defeat in 10 URC matches against Dobbo’s Stormers in the URC, including a final and a play-off quarter-final.
