No dissension in the ranks when it comes to how sorely missed Goosen will be in the Currie Cup final
There may be some dissension in the ranks when it comes to some of Johan Goosen’s career choices, but everyone would agree that he will be sorely missed by the Bulls in the Currie Cup final against the Sharks on Saturday following his withdrawal due to testing positive for Covid.
The Springbok flyhalf was in sublime form in the Bulls’ 48-31 win over Western Province in their semi-final last weekend, looking every bit the world-class flyhalf Jake White hoped he would be and drawing comparisons with Wallabies legend Stephen Larkham from the coach.
Bulls CEO Edgar Rathbone confirmed Goosen’s misfortune on Wednesday, but if there is a silver lining it is that no other member of the squad is affected as the franchise aim to become the first team to win back-to-back Currie Cup titles since Free State won twice and shared one with the Bulls between 2005 and 2007.
That’s because the Bulls squad were given Saturday and Sunday off after Friday night’s semifinal and Goosen was down at his Eastern Cape farm. His positive test came on Monday when he arrived back at Loftus Versfeld.
Chris Smith, who played off the bench and kicked a 79th-minute penalty to level the scores in last season’s final, will now be the starting flyhalf, with young FC du Plessis expected to be on the bench.
Having a marquee player ruled out of the major domestic final due to Covid is also unfortunate at a time when rugby is desperately trying to prove how responsible they are in fighting the pandemic, with an eye on getting spectators allowed back into their stadiums.
Government held a vaccination drive launch on Wednesday with the support of SA Rugby and other sports, with Sports Minister Nathi Mthethwa saying the more people get vaccinated, the sooner they can go back to watching sport live. Deputy president David Mabuza suggested 40 million people would need to be vaccinated in order to reach herd immunity.
Rathbone told The Citizen he is hopeful that rugby won’t have to wait so long.
“It’s very sad that for the second final in a row at Loftus Versfeld there won’t be any people in the stands. But we are still working on plans to get spectators back, we have submitted millions of documents on how it can be done. Even if it’s only vaccinated people that can attend, it is of the utmost importance that we get crowds back into our stadiums.
“It’s not in our hands, but I think spectators might be phased back in, starting with hospitality first because that’s the easiest to control,” Rathbone said.