Vodacom Super Rugby
Cheetahs sweat over Goosen
2012-04-10 19:00
Johannesburg - The Cheetahs are desperately waiting on news whether their flyhalf and wunderkind Johan Goosen will be fit for this weekend’s match against the Chiefs in Bloemfontein.
The team management have decided to give Goosen as long as possible to prove his fitness, especially as he is a vital cog in their success thus far this season and they desperately will want him to play.
The young flyhalf left the field shortly after half-time with a shoulder injury, but in his time playing scored 13 points to be the first player in the competition to go past 100 points this season, averaging 15.86 points a game at the moment.
Goosen has been a revelation this season and if he is not cleared to play, the Cheetahs at least have the option of going back to another regular, Sias Ebersohn, as they look for another victory at their home base to start their move up the ladder.
And why not, with nine games left in the competition and six of those in Bloemfontein, the Cheetahs will be backing their own brand of adventurous rugby to get them through the downhill period in Super Rugby.
Things are going well in the Bloemfontein franchise, and with a Super Rugby relegation hanging over all teams’ heads, their victory over the Lions can rightly be hailed as a massive step in both confidence and survival.
Their three wins thus far this season is the best they’ve done after seven rounds of the competition, especially when you remember that in 2011 they had won only one game, and in 2010 two at the same stage, while in 2008 and 2009 they only won their first games in week eight of the competition.
Considering they are the only South African team to already have completed their overseas tour, it leaves Naka Drotske’s team in a very strong position indeed.
But to continue their momentum, they will be hoping Goosen is declared fit before this weekend’s game.