Stormers star scoops URC award
SPOTLIGHT: Stormer No.8 Evan Roos has been named United Rugby Championship’s Next-Gen star of the season after an outstanding season for the Capetonians.
Roos, 22, has had a stand-out campaign for the Cape Town outfit, proving himself a destructive ball carrier with more successful carries (126) and defenders beaten (49) than any other player in the competition over the 18 rounds.
His performances this term have seen growing calls for him to be given a chance to shine in the Springbok jersey.
He was overlooked for the first of two South Africa alignment camps in April but made himself impossible to ignore with his subsequent displays and was called up for the second last month ahead of the coming home Tests against Wales.
Following a Round 16 win against Glasgow Warriors in which Roos made a match-leading 10 successful carries, beat five defenders and scored a late try, South Africa director of rugby Rassie Erasmus tweeted: “Well done Evan Roos, that’s how you react to disappointment and make sure you can’t be ignored!”
It seems certain Test honours will soon follow for Roos, who carried his regular-season form into the play-offs by putting in a URC Man of the Match performance against Edinburgh Rugby in the Final Eight.
This award is open only to players aged under 23 at the start of the season and who have earned no more than five international caps at that point, with a media panel voting for the winner.
Players are also required to have made a minimum of nine URC appearances to qualify.
Roos was earlier this week named in the URC Dream Team along with four of his Stormers colleagues.
URC Award Winners List 2021-22
Tackle Machine: Alan O’Connor (Ulster)
Turnover King: Jac Morgan (Ospreys)
Golden Boot: Gareth Anscombe (Ospreys)
Top Try Scorer: Leolin Zas (Stormers)
Ironman: Ruan Nortje (Bulls)
Next-Gen Star of the Season: Evan Roos ( Stormers)
URC Dream Team: 15 Warrick Gelant (Stormers), 14 Seabelo Senatla (Stormers), 13 James Hume (Ulster), 12 Damian Willemse (Stormers), 11 Leolin Zas (Stormers), 10 Ross Byrne (Leinster), 9 Craig Casey (Munster), 8 Evan Roos (Stormers), 7 Nick Timoney (Ulster), 6 Marcell Coetzee (Bulls), 5 Ruan Nortje (Bulls), 4 Jean Kleyn (Munster), 3 Thomas du Toit (Sharks, 2 Johan Grobbelaar (Bulls), 1 Ox Nche (Sharks)
