Johan ready to goose-step into fullback
Bok coach gives injury-prone talent a lifeline
IT’S easy to forget that rugby players are human given the superhuman physical feats they display every weekend.
Springbok tourist Johan Goosen, though, understands more than most about how the sport can make a person feel less than human, especially when the body fails.
At age 22 it appeared as if Goosen’s brief five-test career was already over when he moved to France following a spell of four severe injuries and six operations.
He couldn’t face the process of rehab again and gave himself one last chance. If he suffered another serious injury he would quit the sport, but before then he would try and cash in with a lucrative contract at Racing Metro in France.
Yet four months on he is relishing being back in the Bok squad and is ready to continue playing for years, but not in SA.
“Injuries played a big part in my making the decision to leave South Africa,” Goosen says.
“I didn’t do it because I thought I couldn’t be injured playing rugby in France, but because I needed to think about my financial future, and it’s more lucrative over there.
“I’m really enjoying life in France and when I made that decision I thought my Bok career was over and I would have to live with it. I wrestled with the decision a lot and so I was very surprised when I was called up for this tour.”
Goosen admits that he plunged into near depression when trying to overcome two serious knee injuries that followed long-term shoulder and foot injuries.
“Some mornings I didn’t want to get out of bed,” Goosen says.
Rehab is a lonely time and I started to suffer from depression
“I’m a religious person and I leaned on that to get through the injuries. Rehab is a lonely time and I started to suffer from depression. But you also learn a lot about yourself.
“I made my test debut after only 30 minutes of rugby in four months following a shoulder injury, and that was about the only time I was fully fit when playing for the Boks. So I’d relish another chance.
“My foot injury caused two knee injuries, and part of the difficulty I had in accepting the situation was that they were avoidable if I hadn’t been a bit silly. I was angry with myself.
“I definitely bordered on depression, and after six operations I really questioned whether rugby was for me.
“I told people at the Cheetahs that if I had one more injury I would quit the game. I was so over it at that stage.”
Now he is back in the Springbok mould as a fullback, a notion that makes him smile wryly.
“I only played two games of fullback at under-16 level and twice for the Cheetahs. I’ve now played a handful at Racing and I actually enjoy it.
“At Racing I’ve been working on my speed and that has really improved. At fullback I still have to learn a lot about decisionmaking. I will play wherever they want me to play.
“Honestly, I still want to play flyhalf at test level, but if they want me at fullback I will play there for now.
“There are some similarities, especially in terms of decisionmaking, but there is a lot to learn. At fullback I find myself out of position sometimes. I will adapt. I’ll have to, won’t I?”
Away from the game Goosen is farming in SA — cattle and sheep. He has a horse stud and he competes at horse shows.
“It’s something I really enjoy and it’s a nice release from rugby,” Goosen says.
“It’s a great hobby and my one vice. I don’t drink, and this is what I spend some spare cash on,” he said.