– Cape Town Given the concerns at flyhalf for the Springboks, Johan Goosen’s comeback to top-level rugby over the weekend was of national significance.
While the 30-year-old didn’t set the world on fire in the Bulls’ 33-31 United Rugby Championship (URC) victory over Edinburgh at Loftus Versfeld, head coach Jake White was ecstatic to see his new star player play about 54 minutes.
Goosen was selected at fullback because White wanted to ease him back into action after 11 months on the sidelines, while also praising Chris Smith for his outstanding performance in the No. 10 shirt last year.
It was a decision that would not have pleased Bok coach Jacques Nienaber, who is hunting for a solution in the pivot position given that Handre Pollard is sidelined for the remainder of the season and Elton Jantjies is dealing with off-field concerns.
Frans Steyn filled in at No. 10 for the past weekend’s 38-21 Rugby Championship victory over Argentina in Durban due to Damian Willemse’s absence due to concussion. Frans Steyn has not demonstrated anything that suggests he may be a long-term option.
Stormers star Willemse will return for the end-of-year tour, which begins on November 5 in Dublin against Ireland, although Nienaber has played him at fullback for the majority of the season and sees his future in the backline.
In order to be considered for the Europe tour, the Bok head coach is awaiting Goosen’s swift adaptation to the URC over the next several weeks.
However, the former Cheetahs wunderkind was not featured for the Bulls versus Edinburgh as he regains his footing after a major knee injury.
Goosen made a few carries and tackles, but was a far cry from the Bulls’ Currie Cup playmaker from the previous man.
“It is a huge, huge plus for me that he made it through those 55 minutes unhurt. That will give him a tremendous amount of confidence,” White added.
“And Chris Smith performed admirably. I appreciated that he didn’t think, “Oh well, it means the Springbok is coming back, therefore I won’t be able to play to my strengths,” when he played well.
Therefore, it is hoped that this will be the beginning of a lengthy weekly stay with us.
Goosen’s adventure will continue in Friday’s match at Loftus Versfeld against Connacht (6:30pm kickoff), where it will be intriguing to see if he gets a shot at flyhalf.
White will have to make difficult decisions, as returning Boks Kurt-Lee Arendse, Canan Moodie, and Sbu Nkosi will provide a significant help. In order to complete the back-three against Connacht, Goosen may come off the bench and play flyhalf, while Smith may start.
Connacht lost 38-15 to the Stormers in Stellenbosch on the weekend, although their performance deteriorated somewhat when Bundee Aki was sent off in the final quarter.
They defeated the Bulls in Ireland last season, and Pretoria will need to firm up its defense and adjust to the referee more quickly than it did against Edinburgh.
“I believed they (Edinburgh) to be quite intelligent. They are really difficult on the breakdown. “They don’t give you any rhythm to play off of, so we have to adjust because the higher the level, the less time you have and the more decisions you have to make at the breakdown, rather than just waiting,” White explained.
“I believe they performed admirably, but we maybe did not react as rapidly as we could have.