Roux keen for another crack at Boks

The 25-year-old former Afrikaanse Hoër Seunskool scholar made his Test debut for Ireland in their dramatic 26-32 loss to the Boks at Ellis Park this past Saturday.

According to Ireland coach Joe Schmidt - who came under fire for selecting Roux in the first place - the second row forward did well in his 50 minutes on the field.

Roux described his Test debut as a "great, but emotional" experience in front of all his family and close friends.

"It was emotional during the national anthems before the game, especially when I saw my family and friends in the stands," Roux said, adding: "However, once that first whistle blew I set it all aside and focussed on my job."

He admitted Ireland lost the Test because they did not maintain their linespeed on defence and started to slip some crucial tackles.

"They started building momentum," Roux said of the Boks - who twice came back from being 16 points down, 3-19 at half-time and 10-26 going into the final quarter.

"We were very good with that [linespeed on defence] in the first half."

He said people will blame it on altitude, but Ireland trained for a whole week at altitude and it is not an excuse.

The Irish coach, Schmidt, was complimentary of Roux's physical presence on the field, before being replaced in the second half.

"I had a job to do and hopefully I did my job properly," Roux said.

He said there is always room for improvement and hopefully this week he can get better - if he gets that second cap against his country of both.

"It is never nice to lose, but we have to take it on the chin and come back for next week.

"We have to build on those aspects we did so well in the first half - our set pieces were very good, especially in the scrums and our linespeed on defence in the first half."

By Jan de Koning, in Johannesburg

@rugby365com