The North-South Derby between the Vodacom Bulls and DHL Stormers demands the best of every South African rugby player privileged to compete in it. For the DHL Stormers’ Evan Roos, this match asks and answers every question they as players ask themselves.

“I think both teams get so psyched to play against each other. It’s always good hard rugby. There is never anything ugly about it. It’s just a proper rugby match with both teams going at each other full tilt, and that’s also what South Africans enjoy watching. It’s a big game for us, as it is for them,” Roos said as he spoke ahead of this Saturday’s match at Loftus Versfeld.

“At the DHL Stormers we often talk as a group and share where we came from, how we got into rugby, and why we play rugby.”

With the Vodacom United Rugby Championship incorporating an Origins theme into these Derby matches celebrating the rugby roots of the players, these questions become even more relevant leading up to kickoff.

“Success on the field takes belief in one another and in our plan and what we want to do. It’s a fight and there are a lot of games where you’ve just come out winners at the end with one or two-point wins or a kick here and there. It’s the willingness to work for one another and the love we have for each other in this team. That shows on the field.”

Roos also revealed why he believes coaches such as John Dobson at the DHL Stormers and Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus are able to so successfully rally their players behind them.

“Firstly, they’re good people. They’re just plain good people, who understand people. They know how to deal with people and have been blessed with the emotional intelligence to know how different individuals work and how to get them operating. They work with people from diverse backgrounds and it takes a skill to get this big bunch of people from different areas to work together for a common goal.

“It’s a special trait that only certain people possess, and I think those people should be cherished or looked after because it just shows what it can do for a province or a country when things like that work out.”

Issued by Micheal Vlismas Media

Photo by Ryan Wilkisky/BackpagePix