Springbok Women and Springbok Women’s Sevens star Nadine Roos will join Nagato Blue Angels in Japan on a six month contract in January 2023.

Roos, the 2022 MyPlayers Women’s Player of the Year and nominee for the Springbok Women’s Player of the Year award, is the first local player to sign for a Japanese club and follows in the footsteps of numerous of her male Springbok counterparts who are plying their trade in the Far Eastern country.

Roos said she is looking forward to this chapter of her development as a professional rugby player.

“I am really excited about the opportunity afforded to me to join the club,” said Roos.

“If you look at their history, it is clear they are one of the most successful clubs in the country and are well respected.

“For me personally, the different coaching structures, the culture and different rugby dynamics will help me develop further as an individual and player and that is something I am looking forward to.”

The Blue Angels contest the Taiyo Seimei Women’s Seven Series, where 12 clubs play in four tournaments over four months to determine a national champion, and Roos will join a number of Japanese national players, as well as other foreign imports in her stint

SA Rugby’s High Performance Manager, Lynne Cantwell, believes the move will benefit the further development of Roos, which will have a positive effect on the national teams.

“The club is in good standing and they have an excellent coaching set-up and I am confident that Nadine will grow as a player,” said Cantwell.

“She is relatively young in rugby experience, so this will be a good experience for her. We want our players to be in demand from overseas clubs and hopefully this opens the door for other players as well. Nadine is such a dedicated athlete, we know she will represent us well and we wish her well.”

Blue Angels coach Paul Tietjens said: “Nadine is a player that demonstrates real X-factor in the women’s sevens game.

“Her speed, footwork, handling, decision making and game management skills make her a real threat with ball in hand, while her aggressive attitude,  competitive drive and tackle execution skills make her just as dangerous without the ball.

“The level of professionalism she displays off the field, means she is always working extremely hard to be the best version of herself. As a coach, I am extremely excited to have the opportunity to coach Nadine and we are very happy to have her coming to NBA in 2023.”

Roos will be the fourth Springbok Women player to play abroad. Catha Jacobs is currently with Saracens, while Zintle Mpupha and Babalwa Latsha had stints in England and Spain respectively.