Goosen bides his time
20 Sep 2012
Johan Goosen says Heyneke Meyer has clearly communicated his reasons for delaying giving him a Test start but says that he feels ready to go.
Goosen has shifted into the national consciousness in recent weeks in light of Springboks’ flyhalf incumbent Morné Steyn’s poor form. Meyer had identified Goosen as a successor to Steyn from the outset of his tenure, but injury prevented him from using him earlier. However, with Goosen fit and showing glimpses of his potential in two cameos off the wood against Australia and New Zealand, there are mounting calls for him to replace Steyn for the home leg of the Rugby Championship.
Meyer has held his cards close as far as Steyn’s immediate future is concerned but he certainly has a sense of the pressure he is under to cut the player. He has consistently explained his rationale for holding Goosen back, stressing that how he is introduced into that Test fold will be decisive in shaping the player he will become.
Goosen said, having been briefed on Meyer’s reasoning, he was content with his role at present.
‘The coach has been great in how he has dealt with me. I’ve always known his plans and I believe those plans are in my best interests,’ Goosen told keo.co.za. ‘He has been very careful, especially in terms of my exposure to the media and so on. I’m patient. I know what the purpose of the plan is. But I also feel like I can make the step up to start if the coach asks me to. I feel ready.’
Meyer is unlikely to veer from his kick-chase approach for the Loftus and Soccer City Tests, which brings into question Goosen’s aptitude in executing the skills necessary to succeed within this framework. He is a player who enjoys standing flat to the line, taking that line on himself or keeping ball in hand in a bid to create opportunities for those on his outside. Goosen reckons that he will have to temper his natural instinct slightly if he starts, but scoffed at the notion that Meyer is conservative.
‘Of course you have to be a little more careful about your attacking play in Test rugby, defensive systems are so good and teams punish small errors. But that doesn’t mean the coach doesn’t encourage me to run the ball when it is on,’ he said. ‘I work hard on my tactical kicking, even though we don’t kick that often at the Cheetahs. I feel I can fit into the plans from a kicking perspective. But of course my strength is running the ball. There’s a lot of room for that with the Springboks and the coach encourages us to express ourselves. It is about assessing the opposition’s defensive set up quickly and taking that split second you have to go wide. I think that is the biggest adjustment you have to make from Super Rugby – the time and space you have is so much less.’
Asked what he thought of the vitriol that has been aimed at Steyn in the last week, Goosen said: ‘I feel deeply sorry for him. He is a great guy, so humble and he works so hard in training. He has won many, many Tests for the Boks. He is going through a difficult time now, we all do, and he deserves better than what he is getting from some people and the media.’
By Ryan Vrede
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118 Comments
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20 Sep 2012, 15:23 pm
Only the Bull supporters wants Morne Steyn in the Bok 15. Only reason being they don’t want Heineke to release Morne back to the bulls team.
20 Sep 2012, 15:30 pm
@Transformation-95:
F Steyn is playing to the game plan as well.
HM clearly wants him to line up the opposite 10 and try bulldoze him and get quick second phase ball. Which isnt happening.
Justing Marshall mentioned this exact thing when looking at the replay.
He wasnt playing like this for the Sharks.
Different game plan under HM.
20 Sep 2012, 15:31 pm
FS has done very little for a very long time. He was decent in the 2007 WC, but since then he’s been a hype machine. I’ve never been impressed with him in anything he has done.
Players like Goosen, Jantjies etc are all far more talented. Frans Steyn is indicative of what is wrong in SA rugby. We’ll always pick size over substance.
20 Sep 2012, 15:50 pm
@John Galt-102: this is not just against opposite 10s it doesn’t mate what phase it is…check the 1st argie game in cape town to see what i mean…
20 Sep 2012, 16:01 pm
@Skeppie-99: “Still Transie it’s not fair to judge any 12 playing outside MS, I would rather judge FS after a few games playing outside Goosen.”
surely you can see this is excuse-making of the highest order
francois steyn played 12 outside of MSteyn the bulk of the Welsh game, against Samoa and Fiji and most here were gushing about how fantastic his distribution is and how the bok backline flourished with him on for “DONKEY” de villiers blah blah blah.
nothing was said about how JdV can’t be expected to fire with MSteyn sitting in the pocket, that was never offered as part of the reason why JdV was perceived to be kak.
20 Sep 2012, 17:03 pm
Anyone playing next to Morne will look average, think of how Morne makes average Meise Kind” below-average at the Bulls. Kinda like how Sonny Bill Williams makes people around looks good.
Goosen will unleash F.Steyn
20 Sep 2012, 17:15 pm
@Sir Watson-106: At last.
20 Sep 2012, 17:26 pm
@Transformation-105: No… You embarrassing yourself now…
Who was the scrummy in those games… with a pass that more often than not found Frans Steyn as first receiver?
Farken irritating when “experts” who have never thrown a ball in anger reckon they can pinpoint discrepancies when they can’t even see the whole picture…
20 Sep 2012, 17:33 pm
@rangerman-3: Despite the fact that he used steroids in matric.
20 Sep 2012, 17:49 pm
@GI POT-71: I can answer that… 1, Sharks vs Bulls, 2nd Super Rugby game… no I lie, the game a week later… No, I lie again silly me… The 1st test against England…
Seems I may have a better memory than most here…
20 Sep 2012, 18:31 pm
@Heavens Game-108: jeepuz sweepinh statements about who the scrumhalf was…ffs that scrumhalf was terrible at the world cup clearly playing with a hurt shoulder! francois played outside morne & we can go review the world cup games & dispel the “steyn at 1st receiver” claims…pfffft!
20 Sep 2012, 23:03 pm
Penn in ‘I am Sam’, hoffman in ‘Rainman’, even stiller(simple jack) in ‘Tropic Thunder’- take your pick, any of them would have looked good coming on for steyn.
Golden Goose my g*t! What has this boy achieved that gives everyone plus their oom piet, on this site and elsewhere, a visible throb in their pants? The kind that just shouldn’t go to waste! CC? Nope. Voda cup? Hell no! About 2 decent(didn’t f*** up much) performances in S15 and he’s die nuwe groot wit (whatever ‘hope’ is in afrikaans).
The answer is, has and always will be Elton Jantjies at flyhalf. But wrong union, unfortunate skin pigment and being a fraction smaller than his counterparts means he’s “not what we’re looking for to execute our game plan”. There should be a “shoddy” in that sentence somewhere.
The day Goosen kicks 2/6, back to morne we go. I joke but this is disheartening. We’re talking about young careers here that ALL deserve a chance. They each bring something different to the game, simply for HM to vicariously live out his dream of being Igusends goalkeeper coach for Bafana.
21 Sep 2012, 00:20 am
@fishdish-112: Jantjes will come to the Sharks and he will get another chance with the Boks.
21 Sep 2012, 02:59 am
Frans Steyn could be more than the hype he is given if allowed to play his way, ie play whats in front of him and have the freedom to choose. But typically like all coaches, they are control freeks in SA. Perhaps Francios will be able to deversify when Meyer settles into his position. Unfortunately with idiots like Dippy PDV putting his nose where it dont belong this backward stoneage mentality may keep Meyer unsettled for longer.One wonders if its a deliberate strategy by these backward stoneage people.
21 Sep 2012, 10:38 am
I am worried that the treatment Pat Lambie is receiving could result in him following the path of Brent Russel. He is way better than Kirchner and led The Sharks to a Currie Cup win 2 years ago and Meyer thinks he is no good??!!
21 Sep 2012, 10:42 am
@fever-115: lambie must improve his tactical kicking!
21 Sep 2012, 11:30 am
Not so sure his tactical kicking is so bad – but give him as many matches as Morne has had and let’s see if he is any better!!!
21 Sep 2012, 22:32 pm
I see Rassie says that the kick and chase has worked well for us over the last couple of years with wings like Sivivatu. Rassie, rather shutthefuckup! That worked well for half a season 4 years ago. The only reason the kick and chase can benefit us is because we select backs with limited creativity and skill, their go to option is always gonna be kicking. Aimless kicking should never become your game plan. Bok management seem to be living in a totally different era to the rest of the planet.
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