VIDEO: Dobson's cheeky jab at Jake
WATCH as Stormers Director of Rugby John Dobson gives an honest assessment of Springbok No.8 Evan Roos’ performance in the Stormers’ 19-16 United Rugby Championship victory over the Bulls at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday.
He also took a cheeky jab at Bulls counterpart Jake White.
Roos made his first URC appearance during the second half of the 2024/25 season after having undergone surgery for a niggly shoulder that ruled him out at the start of the campaign.
The 25-year-old loose forward joined the Stormers on loan from the Sharks in 2020 and impressed so much that the move was made permanent.
Roos’ stocks rose rapidly in 2022. He won his first of five Test caps, helped the Stormers claim the inaugural URC title by scoring a try in the Final, and was named player of the season as well.
Stormers boss John Dobson had a tongue-in-cheek response to Jake White’s comments regarding the Stormers’ injury list before showering Roos with praise when asked about his side’s injuries and the No.8’s performance.
“Obviously, we’ve missed Gert Smal and Carel du Plessis, they were two big losses.
“[However], Evan [Roos] stood in well for Gert,” Dobson joked following Jake White’s comments on the Stormers injury list.
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“Injuries are across all the teams.
“Look at the Bulls today [Saturday] who had three guys off.
“Evan is a giant, and what I like about him now is that he’s not the player of two years ago.
“The hot head element isn’t there anymore, but secondly, he’s so well-marked, and he still does all the donkey work.
“He doesn’t get the crazy breaks he got a while ago, but he just carries, works and cleans.
“He’s a much more matured player, and it’s a tough job because he’s getting double tackled all the time.”
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Dobson also had praise for his halfback combination, who steered the ship well in challenging conditions.
“If I were to single somebody out, I would say it’s Jurie Matthee,” Dobson said.
“He’s an unheralded guy. In those conditions, he did a really good job.
He added: ‘Stefan Ungerer is exceptional. He’s one of the best kicking No.9’s in South Africa, and I think we’re still going to see the best of him.
“That [combination] really did work for us.”
* Picture credit: Steve Haag Sport
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