It’s hard to think that Nadine Roos just started playing in Tests a year ago.
Recently, the 26-year-old has excelled in her fifteens appearances, breaking through defenses with thrilling fullback attacking play. She branded herself a playmaker in words and deeds, as shown against Spain and Japan a few months ago. A playmaker can see an opening, sprint with breathtaking speed, and release her teammates to convert or complete the job themselves.
She added to her experience and resume by taking part in the Rugby World Cup Sevens in Cape Town last month. Now that France is their opponent in the inaugural Women’s Rugby World Cup match on Saturday at Eden Park, the Roos and the Springboks have France squarely in their sights.
When asked about the switch back to fifteens on Tuesday, Roos said, “I am a playmaker in Sevens and need to provide space for the rest of my teammates.
There hasn’t been much of a change there. Field position is still vital and the defense is obviously more crowded, thus managing the game is another area of decision-making.
Because of the Covid-19 epidemic, the championship match was originally planned to be played last year but was postponed. SA rugby can count themselves incredibly fortunate to currently have the extraordinary abilities of Roos at their disposal.
Roos will be one of the players to watch in the competition despite having only played in eight Test matches. The No. 15 said that the forthcoming match against the same competition this weekend would be different on both an individual and team level from when she made her international debut against France last year, losing 46-3.
Since I was just beginning to play fifteens at the time, I was learning as I went, but today, I know and understand fifteens so much more than I did 11 months ago, according to Roos.
I won’t forget my first Test match against France for the rest of my life, although it wasn’t the simplest game I played in. Every athlete aspires to compete at the greatest level, and that is how I got started playing Test rugby.
“Right now, the Rugby World Cup is the biggest platform I have ever played on, and I couldn’t be more proud of it.”
Roos emphasized that SA were not just there to fill seats and that they had a very genuine opportunity to pull off some major shocks, beginning with Les Bleus, who were rated fourth in the world by rugby.
Not just I, but the rest of the team, have changed and evolved since that day in Vannes, she said.
Now that we are in this situation, we have a chance to shock someone on Saturday. The first chance for us to succeed in our mission of winning games in New Zealand will come on Saturday.
The game will begin at 3.45 a.m.