Paul Roos

Who was Paul Roos?

Paul Johannes Roos was one of the first South African Springbok rugby union captains and led the first South African rugby team to tour overseas – to Britain in 1906. Roos was born near the South African town of Stellenbosch on 30 October 1880 and completed his education there.

Roos was a popular rugby player and was chosen by his own teammates to captain the 1906 tour. Throughout the tour he was articulate and gracious in victory and defeat, and saw the campaign as an attempt to improve the relationship between his fellow countrymen and the British after the events of the Second Boer War. A devout Christian, Roos was an excellent ambassador for the game and helped promote the South Africans as a fair and exciting sporting team.