Rassie Erasmus has explained Evan Roos’ initial omission from the 54-man Springbok squad for matches against the Barbarians, Italy and Georgia.

The Stormers No 8 was only called up to the squad last weekend when Cameron Hanekom injured a hamstring during the Vodacom Bulls’ URC semi-final win against the Sharks at Loftus.

“I saw the things people wrote [about Roos’ omission],” Erasmus told the media on Thursday. “If anyone talks to Evan, he will tell you himself that there’s definitely not a personal issue [between us].”

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Erasmus said Roos’ lack of form for the Stormers had been a factor as well as the Springboks’ depth in his position.

“We all have different opinions on who plays well and who doesn’t. In our opinion, Evan wasn’t playing as well as the other guys and that’s normally the reason why we don’t select guys. And that’s not to say the guy is not Springbok level or can’t play Springbok rugby. It’s just that Kwagga [Smith], Cameron, Juarno [Augustus] and Siya [Kolisi] can all play eight.

“A guy can also be good enough, but there are just two or three other guys who we think fit [better] into what we are trying to do as a Springbok team. How we attack, how we defend, what we do in lineouts, and so on. Maybe he just doesn’t fit that plan or the other guys are a bit more settled.”

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Erasmus said Hanekom’s injury and Augustus’ failure to pass an exit medical at Northampton Saints ahead of his move to Ulster meant Roos was next in line.

“I watched the Bulls game live and saw when Cameron’s hamstring went. That evening I phoned him through our manager Charles [Wessels] and said, listen, you’re flying tomorrow [to join the Springbok squad].”

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