Stormers star Evan Roos: Photo by Steve Haag/INPHO/Shutterstock/BackpagePix

Stormers star Evan Roos: Photo by Steve Haag/INPHO/Shutterstock/BackpagePix

WATCH: Young Stormers star almost in tears after injury

Stormers and Springboks No 8 Evan Roos was clearly emotional after suffering what seemed to be a serious knee injury on Friday.

Stormers star Evan Roos: Photo by Steve Haag/INPHO/Shutterstock/BackpagePix

Stormers star Evan Roos: Photo by Steve Haag/INPHO/Shutterstock/BackpagePix

Prior to Friday’s clash in Belfast between Ulster and the Stormers, plenty of interest from a South African perspective focused around the head-to-head of opposite numbers Duane Vermeulen and Evan Roos.

The young Stormers star has often spoken of how Vermeulen is an inspirational mentor to him, but the two are also effectively competing for places in the Springboks’ World Cup squad.

Unfortunately as it turned, the battle between the two physical players was cut short when Roos had to be replaced early on after appearing to suffer a knee injury during a breakdown incident that involved Vermeulen.

After the game, the veteran Springbok could be seen consoling Roos, who looked to almost be in tears after leaving the field, while he could later be seen using crutches.

By the looks of it, Roos could be set for an expected period on the sidelines, which comes only just as he returned to action after another injury.

ALSO READ: URC coaches say South African teams increased competition strength

You can watch the incident from the Stormers game below:

Springboks Evan Roos and Duane Vermeulen to meet in the URC
Springboks Evan Roos and Duane Vermeulen. Photo: Twitter

When it came to Friday’s game itself, Ulster were ultimately too good for the Stormers as they claimed a 35-5 (half-time 21-0) victory on a cold night at Kingspan Stadium in Belfast.

The hosts scored five converted tries as the Stormers, disrupted by a number of injuries, struggled to find their rhythm, and they were without of possession and stuck in their own half for large parts of the match against one of the top sides in the league.

The Capetonians were forced into late changes due to injury – Junior Pokomela and Clayton Blommetjies were ruled out before kick-off, replaced by Marcel Theunissen and Kade Wolhuter, with Connor Evans and Andre-Hugo Venter coming onto the bench – and to compound matters, they lost JJ Kotze in fourth minute, with Scarra Ntubeni coming on for his first appearance since April 2022.

SCORERS:

Ulster

Tries: Nathan Doak, Ben Moxham, Nick Timoney, Jeff Toomaga-Allen, Mike Lowry

Conversions: Doak (4), John Cooney

Stormers

Try: Andre-Hugo Venter