Roos is back! Stormers coach thrilled as Springbok prodigy shows 'the Evan of old'

It's a return that lasted a mere 34 minutes but one that was sufficient for Stormers coach John Dobson to believe that a rampaging Evan Roos is back to being the player that was crowned the inaugural URC Player of the Year last season.

The 23-year-old loose forward played an instrumental role in reviving a flat team performance, which eventually blossomed into a 30-16 bonus point victory over Clermont at the Cape Town Stadium.

That win also secured a home berth in the Champions Cup's round of 16.

Roos had been sidelined with a rib injury since late November after a promising showing for the Springboks in a comprehensive win against England at Twickenham, though that robust performance overshadowed to an extent a start to the URC campaign where he's found the going a bit tougher, predominantly due to more alert opponents.

Yet Saturday's cameo suggested the tide has turned for the good.

READ | Rocking Roos return fires Stormers to bonus point win and home Champions Cup playoff

Roos scored within 90 seconds of taking the field, showing immense upper-body strength to barge over the line from a stunted maul mere moments after he made the run that set up the try.

He completed all six of his tackles and even won a turnover to cap a pretty emphatic greeting to the Stormers faithful.

"Yeah, it looked to me like the Evan Roos of old," said Dobson.

"He's had a tough start to the season because he was heavily marked. But this felt like vintage Evan. I'm very pleased with that performance. It's going to be a massive asset for us going forward."

Roos' return might've been the most prominent one, but he was just one part of the Stormers' reset at half-time - trailing 3-6 - where Dobson introduced several substitutes to add energy and purpose.

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