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'Not good news' - Jake White fears for Bulls star Johan Goosen
By Rugby365
Bulls Director of Rugby Jake White painted a bleak picture regarding flyhalf Johan Goosen. The Bulls recorded their first United Rugby Championship win with an emphatic 29-19 victory over Cardiff Blues on Saturday.
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However, the win proved to be a costly affair for the Bulls. Goosen left the field after just 15 minutes of play with what appears to be a serious knee injury.
The severity of the injury has yet to be confirmed. However, speaking to reporters following the win, White admitted the No.10 was far from optimistic.
“At this point in time he [Goosen] thinks it’s not good news,” White said, adding: “He had a couple of ACL injuries before so I’m sure he would know.
“He is fearing the worst but hopefully when we get the scans, it won’t be as bad as we thought it would be.”
Trailing 3-16 at the break, the Bulls were staring down their third URC defeat.
However, the Currie Cup champions readjusted at the break and scored 26 points in the second half for the victory.
White’s men showed their class with incredible defence and dynamic attack, certainly a reminder of why they have been dominating the South African rugby landscape in recent years.
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The Bulls started the second half strongly, Elrich Louw scoring a try after just three minutes.
Wing Madosh Tambwe scored the team’s second try, while replacement flyhalf Chris Smith kicked 19 points.
“The message was quite simply, we’re getting there and we’re dominating in certain parts of the game but we must carry on because if we slack off at 16-3 and we allow Cardiff to get another score, and they get their tales up, it’s going to be difficult,” White said.
“And I mean, we got exactly what we wanted – score early in the second half, and then the momentum changes and with it comes a little bit of belief. Then 16-10 becomes more and more and more and eventually, what can I say: 26-3 in the second half, which was fantastic for us,”
White added: “I was asked about the fitness of this team last week, and this [performance] puts that to bed as we scored all those points in the second half.
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“It’s a nice way for us as a team to get massive amounts of confidence in everything.
“The way we played as well – there is a lot of talk about the Bulls style over the years, and I’ve worked hard with the coaches, and I’m glad for them that people can see the Bulls play a little bit different to what most teams are expecting.”
The Bulls travel to Scotland next to face Edinburgh in Round four.
