DHL Stormers coach John Dobson is confident that last season’s Vodacom United Rugby Championship breakout star Evan Roos will not suffer any second-season blues and is set to lead the team’s charge again this season.
Roos is set to get his first taste of the season’s action when the Stormers host Irish side Connacht in Stellenbosch on Saturday afternoon, and believes Roos is only going to get better after a stellar first season.
“Evan is chomping to get going. He had an incredible 2021/22 season, which resulted in Springboks test selection and I know he is amped to put in a performance to make a statement that he will be even better this season,” said Dobson.
“He got a taste of international rugby. He wants more and he knows that the URC is his stage to make his on-field statements, individually and most definitely for the Stormers.”
The former Paarl Boys High star returned from junior rugby at the Sharks and immediately made an impact last season, storming his way to several awards as the Stormers found their form on their way to an 11-match unbeaten streak that took them to the inaugural title.
The performances saw him get his first test cap against Wales in July and while he was not included in the squad for the Castle Lager Rugby Championship, he is seen as a Springbok star of the future.
Dobson also tipped two young players to get a lot of game time this season and to learn from their new signing Alapati Leaui, the Samoan who signed from Wellington to join them for the season.
Sasha Mngomezulu, the SA under-20 flyhalf and utility back Suleiman Hartzenberg have both impressed in pre-season and Dobson is keen to see what they can do on the URC stage.
“I think Sasha has had an excellent pre-season. I think he grew with the SA Under-20s,” Dobson explained.
“For me, he is a Damian Willemse clone in terms of his professionalism, his physicality, offloading and his skillset.”
He had similar praise for Hartzenberg and said he would learn a lot from Leaui.
“I haven’t seen a back with that strength, speed and step in a while. Those are some of the lesser-known guys that I am really excited about.”