The Vodacom Bulls have returned their kingpin flyhalf Johan Goosen to the starting lineup just weeks after it was thought he had a career-ending injury, with the former Springbok set to start against the Hollywoodbets Sharks in their Vodacom United Rugby Championship semifinal at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday night.
Goosen, who hobbled off the field with a knee injury and underwent “a surgical procedure” after the game against Cardiff, missed the Dragons game and the quarterfinal against Edinburgh. At the time, the initial diagnosis was that it was so bad that it could be career-ending, prompting White to be emotional at the post-match press conference.
But a visit to a top surgeon and a “small procedure” ensured that this was not the case, and Goosen was set to be back a lot earlier, despite the fact that he has had two knee injuries already this season and a host of them during his long career.
Last weekend, the flyhalf started running again and this week posted videos on his Instagram of him practising his kicking, teasing a return to action.
Goosen will start at 10, and White is happy about it, as it gives the Bulls their most experienced pivot for the clash that will determine if they get to their third final in four years.
The likelihood is that Goosen won’t last the whole game, so the pragmatic thing is to start him and have Keagan Johannes, who has been exceptional this season in covering the cracks, on the bench in case he breaks down.
But if all goes well, Goosen will play 50 minutes and then depart with the Bulls on their way to the final.
GOOSEN MEANS A LOT TO BULLS
White was overjoyed in announcing the news, as Goosen is seen as the big boot the team needs to counter the Hendricks brothers this weekend, and their kicking game.
“One thing I know about him is he's always out and then in and then out and then in,” White smiled.
“So if anyone says, listen, he's not game-ready, that's usually how he plays his career. I'm sure you guys watch a bit of training and the ones who have will see, it's like he hasn't been away.
“That's what I sort of repeat myself when I always say, these end-of-season games, when you get to these playoff games, you need your best players fit and available, and you need them ready. And whatever happens in the season is just part of that building block. So to have him back, I mean, we still have 14 or 15 players who played last week. So it's continuity and then have him back. He's a Springbok, he’s our number 10.
“We've got Keagan, who played really well for us on the bench. So it's a good position to be in.”
White said it was important to boost the side ahead of the semifinal with a player of Goosen’s quality.
“It's just important to have him back. It’s got nothing to do with the Sharks. It's just that he's important to us. He's been with us now for a long time. If you consider how many minutes and training minutes he must have had with Emi (Embrose Papier) at nine and with Harold (Vorster) at 12, it's lots and lots of time together.
“If you add up all the minutes he's trained and played with those two guys inside and outside him. And I've got no doubt that he'll be good enough and he'll settle in quickly.”
QUARTERFINAL FATIGUE WILL HIT SHARKS
While the Sharks have had to get to the semifinal through a 100-minute game and penalty shootout, White believes the fatigue will take a toll, but that they are still a very tough side to beat on any day.
"100 minutes will affect them. It's just the nature of the competition here. It's like if you follow tennis and some guys play for five sets, they're obviously more fatigued at the end of the comp if they have five set matches on the weekend.
“Then you get guys that win in three sets, you know, six-love, six-one, six-one, that guy's obviously much better prepared physically. So it does take its toll. We don’t know yet that Eben Etzebeth is out, we only see the team that gets here and we can't worry about who is in and out, we've got to prepare as though the best team's coming. I have said this to you before, that's probably one of the best Sharks teams that's ever been on paper. It reminds me of Pieter Muller, Henry Honiball, Jeremy Thompson, Cabous van der Westhuizen and Andre Joubert. They’re all Springboks in the Sharks backline.
SPRINGBOKS GALORE
“There are not many guys in that Sharks team that are not Springboks. In fact, they have 15 out of the 54 players in the Springbok training squad.”
White was wary of the Sharks' run into the semis.
“I think that 12 out of 15 in the team are starting Springboks. And I think if you go through the team, I think the only guys not Springboks in their pack are their two flankers, the rest are all Springboks. And not only Springboks, they're World Cup winners.
“The one thing the Sharks have done consistently is they've played well in big games. Whether it was the Challenge Cup final or whether it was whenever they've had a big game, they've played well and in Springbok jerseys too. I don't think we for one minute think it's going to be easy.
“The Sharks have beaten us twice this year. So there's a reason they've beaten us twice. I got a good team. I suppose what I'm saying is I'm expecting it to be as tough as it can be. We just have to make sure we play as well as we can, because I've got no doubt that if we play as well as we can, we can, we can beat them.”
The match kicks off at 6pm.
Vodacom Bulls: Willie le Roux; Canan Moodie, David Kriel, Harold Vorster, Sebastian de Klerk; Johan Goosen, Embrose Papier; Cameron Hanekom, Ruan Nortje (captain), Marcell Coetzee, JF van Heerden, Cobus Wiese, Wilco Louw, Johan Grobbelaar, Jan-Hendrik Wessels.
Replacements: Akker van der Merwe, Simphiwe Matanzima, Mornay Smith, Jannes Kirsten, Marco van Staden, Zak Burger, Keagan Johannes, Devon Williams