Goosen is in such good nick that Jake says he won’t be surprised if Boks snatch him soon after SA A game
Bulls coach Jake White said on Friday that new flyhalf Johan Goosen has been in such good nick in training over the last couple of weeks that he wouldn’t be surprised if the Springboks snatch him from Pretoria soon after the match against the SA A team in Cape Town on Saturday.
Goosen returned to South Africa in 2018 in rather bizarre and unseemly fashion as he ‘retired’ in order to take up a lucrative new contract with Montpellier, who then had to let him go as his former club, Racing 92, understandably took legal action.
His first match back on South African soil on Saturday will be watched with great interest and White said he has no doubts the 28-year-old will be adding to his 13 Test caps soon.
“Johan has the opportunity to show that he can play at that level again. There is nothing he can’t do – he has pace, skill, he can play flat to the line, he can pass and kick and be very physical. I’d be incredibly surprised if he does not play for the Springboks again, in fact I’m surprised he hasn’t played more than 50 Tests already. He’s helluva keen and he’s experienced.
“I have no doubt he is the real deal. Having never coached him on the field before, I’ve seen he can play from No.10 to No.15 as well as anyone. I’ve been blown away by how good he is and he has changed the way we can coach the team. We can use the skills he executes better than anyone else to do different things with the team now. He’s a phenomenal rugby player,” White enthused.
Unfortunately, another returning Springbok with a big reputation, Marcell Coetzee, will miss the tie because he is still working his way through the Covid Return-to-Play protocols.
White said he had decided to stick with the usual process for Covid-positive players to return and not try to speed things up with the loose forward because he knows he is going to have to rely on Coetzee as the Bulls look to defend their Currie Cup title.
Instead, another Springbok, Nizaam Carr, will captain the team on the openside flank.
In terms of other potential Springboks for later in the season, all eyes will be on Cornal Hendricks at inside centre as he goes up against South Africa’s best No.12 – Damian de Allende.
Bulls team – FC du Plessis, Marco Jansen van Vuren, Harold Vorster, Cornal Hendricks, Stravino Jacobs, Johan Goosen, Zak Burger, WJ Steenkamp, Muller Uys, Nizaam Carr (Capt), Ruan Nortje, Walt Steenkamp, Jacques van Rooyen, Schalk Erasmus, Simphiwe Matanzima. Bench: Johan Grobbelaar, Gerhard Steenekamp, Mornay Smith, Janko Swanepoel, Arno Botha, Keagan Johannes, Chris Smith, David Kriel, Jan-Hendrik Wessels.