'My phone froze': Roos reveals reaction to Rassie's tweet

SPOTLIGHT: Stormers star Evan Roos says he was taken aback when he received praise from Rassie Erasmus on social media.

Roos has been one of the stars during the Stormers’ United Rugby Championship campaign and many pundits believe he should be Duane Vermeulen’s successor in the Springboks’ No.8 jersey.

Therefore it came as no surprise when there was an outcry from fans and certain sections of the media, after the 22-year-old was left out of the Boks’ first alignment camp in early April.

Soon afterwards Roos put in an outstanding performance in a 32-7 win against Glasgow Warriors, which caught the eye of South Africa’s Director of Rugby.

“Well done Evan Roos, that’s how you react to disappointment and make sure you can’t be ignored!” Erasmus wrote on Twitter after that match.

Well done Evan Roos, that’s how you react to dissapoinment and make sure you cant be ignored !

— Rassie Erasmus (@RassieRugby) April 22, 2022

Ahead of his team’s upcoming URC quarterfinal against Edinburgh, Roos opened up on his reaction to that tweet.

“Usually after a game, I call my dad or my mom, but my phone froze,” said Roos. “Everyone was sending me photos and mentioning me on social media.

“That was quite a cool thing to see.

“I didn’t expect it at all. It’s quite nice to get mentioned in a tweet from South Africa’s Director of Rugby.

“It was cool, but I try not to hold onto it.

“It’s an honour getting mentioned by him, but I moved on and focused on the next job.”

Roos would eventually get his one-on-one with the Bok coaches and he said it was insightful.

“The coaching staff were very helpful and they did point one or two things out that I can work on and I have been working on it,” he explained.

“I am very grateful that they shared their insights.”

Winners = Grinners 😀

Bring on the next challenge in the play-offs.#iamastormer #dhldelivers @Vodacom #URC pic.twitter.com/ahPSmaQXUe

— DHL Stormers (@THESTORMERS) May 22, 2022

The Stormers’ cause

Roos said he will continue giving his all to the Stormers’ play-off cause and not let talk of Springbok selection distract him.

“If a player goes in with the mindset of winning a quarterfinal for personal reasons – such as getting picked for the Boks – then he is there for the wrong reasons,” said the Stormers star.

“It’s about winning it for the team.

“Those personal and individual things, I tend not to focus on, because the job is to win and it’s for the Stormers.

“Those things [Bok section] will take care of itself after the season and I am not worried about that now.”

@rugby365com

Round 1️⃣8️⃣ was full of BLOCKBUSTER moments 🔥

Here’s how the season unfolded… #URC pic.twitter.com/UNdZh7FeUx

— United Rugby Championship (URC) (@URCOfficial) May 26, 2022