Cape Town – Johan Goosen is about five or six games short of being fully match fit and at his best, and Jake White feels that the Bulls flyhalf cannot just be expected to “pull the strings” for the Springboks on their end-of-year tour.
The 30-year-old pivot – who has 13 Test caps – was somewhat of a surprise inclusion in a 26-man group that will attend a Bok training camp in Stellenbosch from Sunday onwards ahead of the November trip for Tests against Ireland, France, Italy and England.
While Goosen is highly rated by Bok coach Jacques Nienaber, he hasn’t played much since returning from an 11-month absence due to a serious knee injury.
He made his return to the pitch a few weeks ago at fullback for the Bulls against Edinburgh, and then started at flyhalf against Connacht.
But due to the 4G pitch at Scotstoun Stadium – as he was injured on a similar surface in Cardiff last year – Goosen sat out of the 35-21 loss to Glasgow in Scotland.
He was back at No 10 against Munster in Limerick last Saturday, but didn’t come out for the second half after failing an HIA test, having hit his head on the ground late in the first half.
White said on Thursday that Goosen has returned home as he was ruled out of Friday’s Benetton match due to the concussion protocols.
“The HIA (Goosen) is 10 days or whatever, so he should be ready for next week (against the Sharks in Pretoria on Sunday, October 30). But I know he’s been invited to that Springbok training camp next week, so that will obviously be his first priority,” White said from Treviso on Thursday.
“I feel sorry for him because I think people have this expectation… It happened in the last two games he played for us, that he is just going to arrive on the field and wave a wand, and just going to be the best player in the whole competition.
“He was on fire last year (during the Currie Cup) – he was by far the best player in the competition last year. Then he was out for 11 months, and I haven’t coached a guy ever who comes back from an 11-month injury and just pulls the strings, and becomes… I don’t think the best players in the world have ever done it.
“So, I feel sorry for him. He has a burning desire to be a Springbok and get back into the national team. Whether he is ready? Obviously I don’t think he is where he wants to be. But I think it’s like everything in life: there are opportunities that come at different times, and you’ve got to be good enough and tough enough to take those opportunities.
“And one thing I know is that he is tough enough, he is driven enough… It is not ideal. I would’ve liked him to have played a lot more rugby and (then) go into that set-up.
“But he is going into a very good team, a Springbok team that are world champions, and where they are settled.”
His call-up to the Bok training squad was partly necessitated by the unavailability of both Handre Pollard (injured) and Elton Jantjies (lack of game-time), but it is a risky move at this stage of his comeback.
Nienaber said earlier this week that Damian Willemse would be the first-choice flyhalf on tour, with Goosen as his back-up.
But the Bulls playmaker won’t have the necessary match sharpness and form to start a Test if Willemse had to pick up an injury.
Stormers flyhalf Manie Libbok has been in outstanding touch over the last year or so, but may only be picked in the SA A squad for the two midweek games against Munster and Bristol.
“I suppose it’s very difficult for me to say (whether Goosen is ready for the Boks). Ideally, in the real world, you want him to have lots of games under his belt and play like he had been playing this time last year (before his injury),” White said.
“He beat the SA A side on his own when we played them in Cape Town, and that was against all the foreign (overseas-based SA) players. I signed him until 2026, and that’s why I handle him like I do – I’ve got a long-term plan for him. But our goal was always to get him back into the national set-up… that was part of the talk I had with him when he joined us.
“Ideally, probably a little bit more time. But the burning desire and the drive he has to be a Springbok… all I can say is that I hope that the public are as patient and understanding that, where he’s come from and where he is now…
“Firstly, he is not who he is (at the moment) – he is much better than what he has been for us over the last couple of weeks. But it takes a while for a player to get to that level, and fire at that level – it doesn’t just happen overnight.
“Everybody expects he will come back from his injury and get everything right. He is going to help the Boks – they don’t have a flyhalf, and now he is going to step in and be the alpha and omega of world rugby.
“I was very conservative with his training time and rehab, as I didn’t want him to come back too early because if he gets another knee injury, it will be very difficult for him to come back.
“That is why I rather wanted him to be ready by November and end-of-year for us instead of putting him back too early in the games. I think he is about one or two games short now… or maybe much more, five or six games short to be at his best. But I am sure he will adapt.”
Asked if he had expressed his concern about Goosen to the Bok management, White replied: “No… I think you are going to have to ask them that question. I’m not going to phone them – I don’t know why you are asking me why I haven’t chatted to them…”
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