VIDEO: There's no 'I' in Evan Roos' team
INTERVIEW: ‘It will be a Test match.’
That succinct statement summed up the big United Rugby Championship North-South derby between the Stormers and Bulls in Cape Town on Saturday.
However, Stormers No. 8 Evan Roos, out of favour with the national team, is not looking to further his own agenda at the expense of the team.
Yes, he may be keen to add to his eight Springbok caps, but turning Saturday’s face-off with the Bulls into a Bok trial is not on his agenda.
Despite his sublime form for the Stormers, the 25-year-old made just one appearance for the national team in 2025, off the bench in the 45-0 whitewash of Italy in Port Elizabeth in July.
Saturday, he could face fellow Springbok hopefuls Cameron Hanekom or Elrigh Louw.
For Roos, individual accolades come after team success.
“Those things [individual head-to-heads] don’t get me up,” Roos said in a media stand-up at the Cape Town Stadium on Wednesday.
“If you go into a match with that kind of mentality, then it’s actually quite a selfish thing to do.
“For me, personally, I just want to do what the team requires of me this weekend.”
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The Stormers, on a nine-match unbeaten streak, are aware that a Bulls team on a five-match losing streak could be a potential banana skin.
Roos felt that the Stormers would face a ‘Test match intensity’ onslaught from the Bulls.
“Every team wants to do as well as they can in the URC.
“I think we stuck to what we wanted to do and did it well and the results have paid off so far.
“It’s now just up to us to keep on driving our own standards and trying to be better every game.”
That mindset will be tested against a Bulls side that thrives on physical confrontations, particularly when pride is on the line.
“It’s going to be physical, obviously.
“It’s a north-south derby and South African players are always up for it.
“The guys always step up in an amazing way when these two sides play against each other.
“We’re excited, it’s going to be awesome and I’m happy to be part of it.”
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