OPINION: Evan Roos outcry is puzzling, despite alignment snub

The outcry in some quarters over Evan Roos being left out of the Springboks’ second alignment camp taking place in Cape Town later this week seems like a bit of an overreaction.

A number of pundits and fans have questioned the decision by Bok boss Rassie Erasmus to leave Roos out of the 54-man group that will gather in Cape Town to continue early preparations for the international season.

Questions have been asked if Roos has perhaps fallen out with Erasmus, having been invited to the first alignment camp earlier this year.

But Erasmus has always said that not being invited to an alignment camp has no bearing on whether a player will be selected for the Springboks or not, and I believe that to be the case here, as players have missed alignment camps in the past but still played for the Boks.

Possible reason

A possible reason for Roos’ omission could be the number of loose forwards invited to the camp. There are multiple new players in the mix as well, and Roos has been to several Bok alignment camps before.

Sharks utility forward Vincent Tshituka, who only recently got his SA ID, will attend for the first time, young Lions loose forward Renzo du Plessis has only attended one alignment camp, while one-Test Bok Cameron Hanekom is another player who has not been in the system very long.

People might wonder why it is necessary to have more experienced players, such as Bok captain Siya Kolisi or Bulls loose forward Marco van Staden attend the camp, but the senior players likely play an important role in integrating new players into the system.

Roos has been in cracking form for the Stormers in the URC this season and I fully believe he deserves to be a part of the Bok squad come the international season, though he has yet to replicate his club form on the international stage.

I will be very surprised if he isn’t given the chance to play again for the Boks during the Tests against Italy and Georgia in July.