Goosen - bad news for the Mozart crowd of haters

The following article for the Mozart haters of some coaching staff and players are in the following newspaper articles:-

Jake White heaps praise on Bulls pivot Goosen: 'I can't believe he hasn't played 50 Tests'

There were many positives for coach Jake White to take from the Bulls' thumping 45-9 win over Cardiff at Loftus on Saturday, but one of the most pleasing was the performance of flyhalf Johan Goosen.

A player who has endured a nightmarish run of injuries is now back in the Bulls No 10 jumper, and he showed on Saturday why he has been accompanied by so much expectation for such a long time.

Even when injured, Goosen has remained on the radar of Springbok bosses Rassie Erasmus and Jacques Nienaber, and this performance was a statement.

Goosen scored a try and kicked 11 points on the night, but his running of the game was even more impressive as he distributed with precision, putting himself and players around him into gaps, and was largely flawless kicking out of hand.

It was a complete flyhalf showing, and while White was naturally pleased with the efforts of Kurt-Lee Arendse and Canan Moodie on the night, too, there was a noticeable satisfaction in his voice when addressing Goosen at his post-match press conference.

"In the beginning, we couldn't get rhythm, and we got a lot of slow ball. Every time we got through a couple of phases, it was like we couldn't run onto the ball," said White.

"And then as soon as we did and Goosen could run onto it, and he could open up holes, we either scored or put people away.

"It's going to get better and better."

White says the trick now is to get Goosen playing more regularly, and he is confident that the gains will continue.

"The more he plays and the more they get to play around him, the better. I'm really excited because we're not even halfway through the competition, and we're scoring lots of tries, and we look dangerous every time our backs get the ball," he said.

"Goosen probably hasn't been given as many opportunities as I would have liked at No 10, because he hasn't been able to train there for long periods of time.

"He was injured, he came back, and we used him as a fullback because the team needed him more in that position, especially when we lost our Springboks.

"He needs to get game time at No 10, and if that's the type of game he's going to play after a limited time of running in the No 10 jersey, then we're obviously very excited about where this can go.

"I know it and everyone knows it; he's a talented player, and I can't believe he hasn't played 50 Tests for South Africa. It is what it is, and we have to get him back into the saddle now so he plays as many games as he can."

The official player of the match was Moodie, who scored two tries and linked up superbly with fullback Arendse, who dotted down once.

"Every time they kick the ball and Canan, or Kurt-Lee catches it, you can just sense it, and even the crowd feels that something is going to happen," said White.

"When you combine that with guys like Cornal [Hendricks], Lionel [Mapoe], Harold [Vorster] and Johan Goosen when he's on song like he was tonight, it's fantastic."

The question is when will Goosen becomes a favo rite of the player hatred crowd?

Nope don't expect any change in "mind" of the anti Goosen crowd. The tragedy is that he he has so may injuries set backs. At 30 his time is limited. 

So much expectation and praise, yet he never delivers the goods for the Boks. That's not being a hater (that really is such a childish term, do we really need to stoop so low as to talk like those creatures across the pond?), it's simply being honest. He is best at 15, yet even there he was not very good. If he gets a chance, it's another opportunity to finally deliver, but after ten years, that is rather unlikely. His last performance left a lot to be desired, and that was in the defeat to Munster! 

He was not playing for the Boks in that game - it was a hotchpot of selections and useless to boot.   His first game for the Springboks in 2012 was when Morne failed badly against the Welsh and Goosen replaced him against the Scots.  he was brilliant.    Morne was brought back for four tests in the Rugby Championship  and failed hopelessly in all four - after which Meyer was forced to replace him by Goosen.   He was brilliant in the Aussie match and was injured early in the succeeding AB test and never played for the Springboks again until the clueless Coetzee called him up to play at outside center in the June tests.   He scored a very good try and was good in defense, but as per normal Coetzee lost the plot and never used him at flyhalf.   

Maybe the coaches lost the plot because he went to play for Racing Metro in Paris where he signed a contract to play for them.   He left SA more or less the same time - Morne ended up as bench player for Stade Francais and was generally regardxed as totally useless by the club.   They tried a number of times to get rid of him - but no club was really interested/   On the other hand Goosen was used at 13 by Metro and he became one of their star players.    In 2016 he was selected by Players thrughout French rugby as the Players Player of the year and  he was offered a massively increased contract with the club.   

That was where he went ballistic - he wanted to play at flyhalf and then to get out of th signed contract he announced his retirement from rugby and left Paris.   That was a total foul-up by Goosen and he ended up after negotations  playing for Montpellier who paid out Racing for their contract.   During his career Goosen was injury prone - and he rarely actually played any rugby.   

When Goosen is fi t he is a brilliant player with ball sense and ability.   That in fact is what White said in the above article.                     

I had to stop reading that early, as the Boks did not play Wales in 2012 and Lambie started and finished the Scottish test that year (Goosen wasn't on the EOYT). Clearly, you have no idea what you are talking about. 

Hahahaha…Tokkie blows it again. Goosen is a talent no question. When he was young he had brilliant pace, which he seems to have lost. His two vulnerabilities….nerves and injuries have made him an unreliable choice. But occasionally when the moon is in the seventh house and Jupiter aligns with Mars, that talent will flare up.

He did not play well in the mid-week game for the Boks on the EOYT. Although barely anyone did. 

He lacks confidence in the tackle area of the game because of his frequent injuries.
He is just a bit fragile in contact, otherwise, he is a quality player. 

He seems to get better with more game time - but has never reached his potential as the next injury reduces momentum.

He can play a very flat game running onto the ball at pace creating a high-tempo game plan. He has a good step and pass, and can put other plays into space.
His kicking has always been good.

If he had played more in South Africa, he would have had more tests. Also, If he had not been an injury-prone person. Certainly, if he had not spent so much time on the sidelines injured. 

Goosen plays quite a bit away from the line. That's been the hallmark of his game. He likes to run a flat line towards the touchline with an outer runner cutting back on his inside. At the peak of his time with the Cheetahs, he had a pretty hard runner at 12, with clever running from 13 and the outside backs. He wasn't a 10 who could play flat to the line. So the Boks would have to revert to the deeper lying structures that Erasmus has been using in the past. So, he'd effectively be running behind screens and making rudimentary passes linking pods. He isn't physical enough to run close to the line, and when he does run, he tends to run into blind alleys. His ability on defence is the worst I have seen from a Bok. He has absolutely no presence in contact.