Evan Roos: Stormers must maintain energy against Ulster

Evan Roos feels last week’s win over Edinburgh was a “good step in the right direction”, but the Stormers will need to be wary of underestimating Ulster in Saturday’s United Rugby Championship clash.

The Belfast outfit haven’t been their usual consistent selves this season and are in seventh position on 34 points, and suffered a 22-12 loss at the hands of the 14th-placed Sharks in Durban last weekend.

In contrast, the Stormers have won seven out of their last eight matches across the URC and Champions Cup, with their only blemish being the 40-22 defeat to the Bulls in Pretoria.

And the Cape side seemed to finally rediscover their attacking spark against Edinburgh last weekend, scoring seven tries in their 43-21 triumph.

They appeared to play with more rhythm with ball in hand, with right wing Suleiman Hartzenberg scoring a hat-trick of tries, while Roos and left wing Leolin Zas both grabbing braces themselves.

The result saw the Stormers move up the log to fifth position on 35 points, just one ahead of Ulster, so a victory this weekend could see John Dobson’s team get into the top four – depending on what fourth-placed Munster do against Cardiff.

“I’m happy we could play some exciting rugby that the DHL Stormers fans enjoy. We may have left a few tries out there, but all in all, it was a very good performance,” Roos told the team website.

“Our scrums and line-outs functioned well and (it was) back to the standard where it needs to be. Plus two maul tries and a scrum penalty to take out of the game is always a positive.

“It’s a good step in the right direction, and I’m sure we can maintain this momentum and energy.”

The 24-year-old Roos had to deal with a broken jaw he sustained against La Rochelle in December, which kept him out for around two months.

That saw usual blindside flank Hacjivah Dayimani sparkle at No 8, and Roos made his return on the side of the scrum against the Sharks in mid-February.

But he is at his best at No 8, and having been part of the recent Springbok alignment camp, he will want to keep up his form for the rest of the season to be in the mix for the opening Test matches of the year against Wales and Ireland in June and July.

Dayimani played off the bench against Edinburgh, with Nama Xaba and Ben-Jason Dixon completing the loose trio.

“Nama and BJ are just two workhorses who never seem to get tired, and Hacjivah is playing phenomenal rugby at the moment,” Roos said.

“We still have guys like Marcel Theunissen and Willie Engelbrecht and Deon Fourie, who are of the same calibre.

“We’ve created such good depth in the loose forwards at the Stormers, which is definitely needed to compete in two top-tier competitions simultaneously.”

Roos will have a tough task marking hard-running Ulster No 8 Nick Timoney this weekend, but knows the importance of getting five log points for the Stormers to remain in contention for a home quarter-final and semi-final.

Then it’s another big showdown with La Rochelle in the Champions Cup last 16 to follow on April 6 at Cape Town Stadium.

“If we can come away with another few wins, it puts us in a really good space in the URC and Champions Cup,” the Paarl Boys’ High product said.

“However, Ulster are one of the top Irish sides and they’re going to be tough, and La Rochelle pushed us pretty close last time we faced them, so we’re taking it week by week and not getting too far ahead of ourselves.”