Quite nice to train without pain, says general Goosen
AFTER making his return from a longterm knee injury last season, it wasn’t long before Johan Goosen required surgery for a shoulder problem.
Then in the build-up to the United Rugby Championship quarter-final against the Stormers, a hamstring issue cropped up. Goosen was eventually cleared for the Cape Town Stadium play-off, but lined up at fullback, with Chris Smith at flyhalf, and he eventually left the field early in the second half as the Stormers triumphed 33-21 for their sixth consecutive victory over their Pretoria rivals.
The Bulls came close to ending their losing streak against the Capetonians in December, but appeared to get in their own way on attack in the 26-20 defeat.
Goosen started at flyhalf, but fullback Willie le Roux was often in the first receiver role instead, and Goosen didn’t have the necessary influence on the game by calling the shots with the backline, having displayed good form in the previous matches.
That all seemed to change on March 2, though, with Goosen producing a 20-point haul and keeping the backline and scoreboard ticking over as the Bulls finally beat the Stormers 44-20 at Loftus Versfeld.
“Last season was quite a difficult one for me. I had a lot of injuries – quite a few niggles – and I tried to play with that,” the 31-year-old pivot said this week ahead of Saturday’s URC clash against the Dragons in Newport (9.35pm kick-off).
“It’s not always easy to play with niggles, but you try to do your best for the team. But I must say, this season there have been no injuries and no niggles, so my body is feeling well and I’m positive.
“It’s quite nice to train without pain, so you can focus on the stuff you need to do during the week for the game. Without niggles and injuries, it’s nice to be positive and train well, and then do that on game day as well. I must say, the body is feeling well this season.”
The Bulls are the best attacking team in the URC, having scored the most tries (51) and most points (389). But Goosen is reluctant to take credit for the success. “If you look at our back three, and then David (Kriel) and Stedman (Gans) – and throw in various centre combinations – if you can get the ball to Kurt-Lee (Arendse), (Canan) Moodie and Willie (le Roux), it’s quite nice to see what they can do with the ball,” he said.
“My job is just to get the team (going) in the right direction, and play(ing) in the right areas of the field. It’s nice to have those guys at the back, and they can do the fancy stuff.
“I must say that Embrose (Papier) is playing some of the best rugby that I’ve seen him play, and I am very happy for him.
“He makes my job much easier
– his tactical kicks are on point and sometimes you don’t actually know what he is going to do, and then he catches the defence unawares.
“I must give it to him: he is playing very good rugby, and we are starting to understand each other.”