Goosen out. What now?

With Goosen out for a minimum of six weeks, and a maximum of six months, what are our options at 10 for the End Of Year tour? To start with, I still feel Goosen is our long-term answer at 10, because even though nerves seem to have gotten the better of him as far as kicking is concerned, he certainly displayed more than enough other qualities to confirm his ability. And as we saw in Super Rugby, he does have an accurate kicking boot too, he just needs to learn how to deal with test pressure, but he is only 20, so that will come with time.

We therefore have 3 serious options at 10, 

1)  Lambie: Who in my opinion is a good player, but has never really excelled as a no.10. More suited to fullback. Offers a fair amount on attack and has decent defence, but he seems to lack a little time when playing flyhalf. His tactical game is also sufficient, even though it is not spectacular.

2) Jantjes: Has plenty of potential, but lacks consistancy. He is just not reliable enough to be a test no.10. Also, he tends to go missing when the going gets tough. Defense is still very suspect. On the plus side, when things are going his way, he does have X factor and can create things on attack. Kicking at poles is reasonable, but not consistant.

3) Morne Steyn: Has had a massive dip in form, and is not a very popular option as a result. He lacks attacking flair and is predictable. He does still have a very accurate boot when he is on form, and if the players around him are performing well, he should still be solid enough to hold his own on the end of year tour.

With a bit of time to re-discover himself, I think some game time in the Currie Cup could be enough for Morne to get his Mojo back. If he is able to do this, he, in my opinion, will be good enough to temporarily fill the position at the end of the year...even if it is just by the skin of his teeth. He would be my call out of a lack of genuine options.

 I still don't understand saffas love affair with goose. Why is it that goose is given a free pass for playing poorly (anyone who believes he impressed on the weekend is a plutzing fanboy) whilst jantjies who was no worse than goose is written off as unreliable and inconsistent.  Why isn't goose held to the same lofty standards as jantjies?Honestly. Is it because he' cullert that many saffa s are quick to write off jantjies whilst they instantly forgive the same frailties (inconsistent, unreliable, weak under pressure, defensively anonymous, timid and reluctant to run the ball at the line, poor tactical kicking, injury prone etc,etc,etc)  in goose. I still don't see what all the hoopla is about. goose is the biggest pretender out of the republic since Jake White 

Nukie, Goosen played very well against Auz, and yes I know they were a weakened side, but he still showed his potential. He played a whole 20 mins against the All Blacks on Saturday, a period of the game during which the AB's were owned. But obviously with your massive rugby knowledge, you saw enough in those 20 minutes to write him off for the rest of his career as sub-par. But hey, who am I to argue with you? Jantjes....seriously, pull the other one!!

I agree with Nuke glassboy is a "hope" for SA rather than an answer. Hes dont feckall to warrant any glory.

The Boks are trying to find an "ace" card but all they have is a "joker" hahahahaha-habana

I reckon you should bring back Butch James hes a goodem!!!

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You are probably right, we are looking for an ace to pull the Boks out of our current slump, and we are placing that hope on young Goosen's shoulders. So yes, he is our hope at the moment, but where I don't agree with you both is on what he has done so far. In his games for the Boks, he has done very well. His goal kicking was crap, but as indicated above, that will come right with time. In just on game against Aus, he managed to take a conservative style of play that has been intrenched in SA rugby for more than a decade, and play an attacking game. And he did so despite those around him still having the "old" mindset. That is an achievement all on its own!  Is he an ace or the cure to all our ills, who knows? But so far he has not done anything to indicate that he will not be.

 I took the trouble to study Goosen's contribution in that 27 minutes prior to being injured.

Apart from missing those 2 goals he also put 2 territory finders straight down the throat of an AB and put up one up and under which travelled about 20 metres too far. 

With all the possession and territory the Boks had, all he did was shovel the ball on and NOT ONCE did he try to run it or have the ability to put someone through a gap.

So I'd say his contribution was about nil and I'd leave him at home for EOYT even if he does recover. He needs another full S15 season before being considered again.

Nuke, not sure why you have to bring you fantasy regarding a crippled ape that can't say no to your advances into the discussion, but I'll put that down to my lack of understanding regarding Kiwi sexual  drivers? Obviously I agree with you  that a 20 year old 80 something kilo flyhalf should had stopped a 120kg lock in full stride, dead in his tracks, but all players have defensive failures from time to time. As for the 20mins vs your 36mins, I am way too lazy to verify your claim, so 36 minutes it is, but seeing as though the Springboks were the dominant team for the whole first half, I don't really see your point.

No Nuke, you did not get away with saying he got injured in the 36 minute...and then editing your comment to "in the 27 minutes prior to being injured...." Hahahaha, but hey, as I said, I am too lazy to check your homework....so whatever!!!

How about giving Louis Fouche a call up to the end of year touring squad?he has a huge boot and is a pretty accurate goalkicker!Not as our first choice option but i think he could contribute to the cause while goosen is injured and morne is out of sorts!

I have not seen enough of him to comment, but from what I have seen, I don't know if he offers enough to warrant including him. I guess one must take into account how poor the Bulls as a unit have been this season...maybe making him look worse than he is?

 Huh? I deleted my post because I thought it was overly harsh and didn't need to be printed.  Your juvenile riposte suggests I needn't of bothered.

" No Nuke, you did not get away with saying he got injured in the 36 minute" 

Lol. You seem to have mistaken nuke for moola. Apparently comprehension (along with critical analysis of Seth Efrican players) is a bridge too far for you. 

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He definately still has a lot to work on and can also be quite erratic,has a great boot though,and can keep an opposing team in there 22 due to the distance he gets with his kicks!have also seen him slot a few kicks for goal that have been 55meters or more. If the bulls get a penalty in there own 22 u can expect the lineout to take place in the opositions 22

Doesnt come close to Goosen though

How obviousthese kiwis are!!!! Hahahahhahahaha

Goosen is not frail in temprement I hav eseen him slot them all over the park. The onl ything is tha th eis too young. How can a player set to play for the baby Boks next year b ehard enough t pla ytes trugby.Its crazy.

He should no teven play too much Super 15 nexteyar. Pleanty of conditioning and w ehav e apotentia lgreat on our hands and the ab fans of course realise this.

Jantjes is a talent and if he can get better on defence he will be fine. Again he is still young and so we will need to wait for him to gather strength.

Maybe We should jus tour with Lamie and Jantjes playing at flyhalf. A bigger worry is all the players who should not tour:

Beast, Jannie, Etzebeth (a lot for a very young player), Alberts(?), Hougaard, Jean, Habana are all who have played a lot of rugby?

There are also other fringe players who have played to much eg Kitshoff.

I do believe there are basically three problems that needs to be managed very carefully in the case of Goosen as a player - and those relate ro-

  *    The age factor;

  *    Physical Development

  *    Professional Coaching.

Before dealing with the above issues - the New Zealand blockers on this site are screaming with delight about Goosen - the main reason being that they are delighted by his injury - because it could delay or eliminate the threat he poses to their team.    That - I believe is not very sportdmanlike - and could bite them eventually.

Now let me deal with the three issues mentioned above:-

The Age Factor

I have no doubt that playing a 19 year-okd in Super 15 and a 20 year old in the Springbok team is in the first instance problematic..   Physically at that stage a human being is not strongly enough developed to participate in a sport like rugby.   He should really have started on that level at the minimum afe of 21.

I can understand Meyer's problem - he persisited with Morne Steyn - till the latter's failure was so problematic - that he had to rush in Goosen - as far as I am concerned rather prematurely.   I believe that Goosen was physically not ready for the challenge yet.

However, the tirades about failure is premature - he did have a good game against the Wallabies and an average game against the All Blacks.  They are criticisng - but I wonder what they would have saif if Goosen - and not Carter - kicked in twice and kicked the ball out of touch directly.   Nothing said about that - but for them Goosen is fair game.

Physical Development

This is relly where the main problem with Goosen is, especially if the following stats are taken into account:-

Goosen       =   Height     1,85       Weight       89 kgs

Carter         =   Height      1,78       Weight      94 kgs

Jordaan      =   Height      1,80      Weight       96 kgs

I mention the above to illustrate the need to develop his physical strength by adding between 8 and 10 kgs of muscle to strengthen his body to cater for demands of international rugby.   The ideal weight and body strength requirement should be 97-98 kilos.

Even the present injury should not prevent a comprehensive programmee of physical development to commence.   I believe that the above objective can in fact be met by June 2013 - that is  in time for the 2013 test series.    A ptogramme like this is to my mind a prequistie to guard against recurring injuries.

Coaching Requirements

Goosen has all the talent in the world - but need some coaching on the issue of tackling and defence.    

On the whole I have faith in it that the issues raised  will be properly managed and that the results would become evident by the time the 2013 tests commence.   In the meantime the gloating by the New Zealand members should continue - it won't affect thinking people who knows better.  

How obviousthese kiwis are!!!! Hahahahhahahaha

Goosen is not frail in temprement I hav eseen him slot them all over the park. The onl ything is tha th eis too young. How can a player set to play for the baby Boks next year b ehard enough t pla ytes trugby.Its crazy.

He should no teven play too much Super 15 nexteyar. Pleanty of conditioning and w ehav e apotentia lgreat on our hands and the ab fans of course realise this.

LMAO!