Share

Goosen tops S15 century race

Cape Town - Cheetahs flyhalf Johan Goosen could become the first player in 2012 to reach 100 Super Rugby points when his team host the Lions at the Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein on Saturday afternoon.

Goosen is currently the top points’ scorer in the competition on 98. The Hurricanes’ Beauden Barrett is on 86 and needs 14 points against the Sharks to make it to 100 before Goosen. Joe Pietersen of the Stormers is third on 73.

And while Goosen (and possibly Barrett) are chasing this milestone this weekend, in round seven, they are not close to the record for the fastest player to reach 100 points in a season. That mark belongs to Gavin Lawless of the Sharks, who passed 100 season points in his fourth game in 1997 (he scored 50 against the Highlanders, 23 against the Waratahs and 15 each against the Brumbies and Cheetahs).

Two players have done it in five games - Gavin Johnson for the Lions (then still Transvaal), also in 1997 and Morné Steyn for the Bulls in 2010.

Goosen, who starred for the SA Under-20s last year and is still eligible for the team this season, and Barrett have both played in all six their teams’ matches thus far this season.

This week the Lions welcome back their primary goal kicker, Elton Jantjies, who was SA U20 flyhalf in 2010. He missed a few matches because of injury, in which time veteran Bok flyhalf Butch James has taken over the kicking duties.

The 14 successful penalty goals that Goosen (5) and Jantjies (9) kicked when these two sides met in the first round in Johannesburg, is the most ever in a Super Rugby match.

Cheetahs coach Naka Drotské said they are happy to be back home after a difficult start to the competition.

“Our season has been up and down and we have mixed feelings about the results. But it was a tough start - we’ve played five out of our first six games away from home,” said Drotské.

“I do feel, however, that we should’ve won our games against the Lions and the Brumbies – we lost both of them through late penalty goals. Now we have 10 games in South Africa and seven in Bloemfontein to look forward to. We are improving each week and know we need to win our home games.”

Lions coach John Mitchell said: “We’re prepared as well as we can for this game and we have a specific way in which we want to play. The Cheetahs would’ve returned from their tour with a lot of confidence and are playing well and we fully respect them for that.”

Kick-off is at 15:00 on Saturday.

Teams:

Cheetahs:

15 Hennie Daniller, 14 Ryno Benjamin, 13 Robert Ebersohn, 12 Andries Strauss, 11 Willie le Roux, 10 Johan Goosen, 9 Piet van Zyl, 8 Philip van der Walt, 7 Ashley Johnson, 6 Heinrich Brussow, 5 Izak van der Westhuizen, 4 George Earle, 3 WP Nel, 2 Adriaan Strauss (captain), 1 Coenie Oosthuizen

Substitutes: 16 Hercu Liebenberg, 17 Trevor Nyakane, 18 Andries Ferreira, 19 Justin Downey, 20 Tewis de Bruyn, 21 Sias Ebersohn, 22 Philip Snyman

Lions:

15 Jaco Taute, 14 Deon van Rensburg, 13 Alwyn Hollenbach, 12 Butch James, 11 Andries Coetzee, 10 Elton Jantjies, 9 Tian Meyer, 8 Joshua Strauss (captain), 7 Derick Minnie, 6 Cobus Grobbelaar, 5 Franco van der Merwe, 4 Paul Willemse, 3 Patric Cilliers, 2 Martin Bezuidenhout, 1 Caylib Oosthuizen

Substitutes: 16 Callie Visagie, 17 Ruan Dreyer, 18 Marius Coetzer, 19 Etienne Oosthuizen, 20 Michael Bondesio, 21 Lionel Mapoe, 22 James Kamana
 
We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Voting Booth
Should Siya Kolisi keep the captaincy as the Springboks build towards their World Cup title defence in 2027?
Please select an option Oops! Something went wrong, please try again later.
Results
Yes! Siya will only be 36 at the next World Cup. He can make it!
26% - 1273 votes
No! I think the smart thing to do is start again with a younger skipper ...
29% - 1470 votes
I'd keep Siya captain for now, but look to have someone else for 2027.
45% - 2247 votes
Vote
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE