Free State Cheetahs coach Naka Drotské, named a strong lineup and a virtual Super Rugby quality side to face the Vodacom Blue Bulls on Saturday in Bloemfontein for their Currie Cup clash.
Not only will they start with Coenie Oosthuizen at loosehead, but Coenie will have 2 Springboks next to him in the front row, with Adriaan Strauss at hooker and re-taking the captaincy and with Trevor Nyakane at tighthead.
But the biggest news is probably that the almost forgotton young brilliant flyhalf, Johan Goosen, might be back on the field from the bench, should he pass a fitness test on Friday. Goosen has been out of action since injuring his knee in training on the Cheetahs’ Australasian tour in Super Rugbyof 2013. He was set to return to action earlier, take part in the match against Griquas which was played this past weekend, but a few weeks ago he had to undergo an operation to remove a troubling appendix, which naturally delayed his return.
His recovery seems to have been faster than expected and if he plays this weekend, he would qualify to also play in the play-off rounds.
“We are going to give him time till Friday,” Hawies Fourie said.
“He has had two training sessions with the team this week and we will make the call at Friday’s captain’s run.”
“If we want to use him in the play-offs, we have to give him at least one game before the semifinals,” Fourie said, when asked about the decision to attempt to rush Goosen back.
“As far as his knee is concerned, he is 100 percent,” he said. “However, we have to take all the factors into consideration before making the call.”
Goosen trained with the team on Tuesday, came through it a bit stiff but nonetheless also trained on Wednesday. On Thursday he will do some fitness tests.
“We will see at Friday’s captain’s run how he has progressed. He will take the place of Piet Lindeque on the bench if he is cleared to play.”
Johannes ‘Boom” Prinsloo moves from No 8 to the side of the scrum, whilst Philip Van der Walt comes in at No 8, with Teboho Mohoje moving down to the bench.
The only change in the backline is a fit again Rayno Benjamin, who replaces Piet Lindeque at right wing, with Lindeque dropping down to the bench and possibly out of the matchday 22 (should Johan Goosen pass the fitness test on Friday).
The Free State Cheetahs are currently 3rd on the Currie Cup log and need a win to secure that spot. Should the Blue Bulls however win handsomely, scoring 4 tries and winning by 12 points without allowing the Free State Cheetahs 4 tries, the Cheetahs could fall right down to 5th place spot and right out of the semi-finals.
The Golden Lions are currently breathing down the necks of the Free State Cheetahs, a solitary point behind them, with a markably easier game awaiting them against Griquas on the weekend.
The Blue Bulls are currently 5 log points behind the Free State Cheetahs, but a consumate win could see them make up that deficit.
Free State Cheetahs: 15 Hennie Daniller, 14 Rayno Benjamin, 13 Johann Sadie, 12 Robert Ebersohn, 11 Raymond Rhule, 10 Elgar Watts, 9 Sarel Pretorius, 8 Philip van der Walt, 7 Pieter ‘Lappies’ Labuschagné, 6 Johannes ‘Boom’ Prinsloo, 5 Lodewyk de Jager, 4 Francois Uys, 3 Trevor Nyakane, 2 Adriaan Strauss (Captain), 1 Coenie Oosthuizen
Replacements: 16 AJ le Roux, 17 Schalk van der Merwe, 18 Freddie Ngoza, 19 Teboho Mohoje, 20 Piet van Zyl, 21 Piet Lindeque /Johan Goosen, 22 Willie du Plessis.
Date: Saturday 12 October
Venue: Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein
Kick-off: 17:05 SA Time (15:05 GMT)
Referee: Marius Jonker
Assistant Referees: Quinton Immelman, Francois de Bruin
TMO: Gerrie Coetzee
So, the Goose might cook the Blue Bulls… goose… hahaha
Glad to see that Johan Goosen might be back, hope he is, so he can qualify to play in the play-off’s…. if the Free State Cheetahs advance.
Bring maar vir Anton Goosen terug, ons sien kans vir sy liefdjies !
liefdjies = liedjies
5 @ Blue Bird:
Hello Blue Bird how are you? Long time no ‘see’.
3 @ Ben_die_Bul:
Daarsy Ben net vir jou
Hope he does well, SA needs a fly half that can tackle, run and kick
So Johan Goosen will play his 1 game for the next 8 months. This oke has bad luck with injuries. Hope he is over all this now. It would be great if he could develop into something bigger.
Lets hope history does not repeat itself and lets hope Goosen is injury free now.
@ Timothy Bornman:
I agree. While MS has been very good this year, him and Lambie need some competition for that no 10 slot. JG has that X-factor that can turn games around.
@ Blue Bird:
No surprising given the standard of rugby that your team has been serving!
11 @ Raggie:
Ou Grootbek…
You Guppie lot are very vocal when it goes well for your team… but very quiet when things are not going so well… shall I remind you of the Sharks Super Rugby season alone this year?
4th spot out of 5 SA Teams and in 8th spot on the Combined Log… hahahaha
Considering that the Blue Bulls were effectively playing without the services of 17 Springboks who did duty for them in Super Rugby in 2013 (was 18 before Bjorn Basson re-joined them), the Sharks did not impress or run the Blue Bulls ragged last week at Loftus, in fact they were lucky to get away with a squeeky 2 point win.
I know what the standard retort will be already, you are predictable… the ref this and the yellow cards that.
Rather just suck it up and get real!
You guys are like a wonderbra… all support and no cups.
PS! Your conceited smiley was very apt, because that’s exactly what YOU are.
… Ja, log off chap, I see you’ve logged off… because you have to go think about some clever answer… and not the usual bullshit…
@ grootblousmile:
I am happy to eat humble pie when it is there to eat; but when there is Prime Beef I will have a double helping… I prefer rare fillet and goodness knows there has been lots on offer!
@ Gena_ZA:
We have one at the Sharks perhaps you have forgotten PAT LAMBIE the player that Meyer has stuffed around for 2 years>>> pat is my No. 10 but he needs to kick more; went against all that Plumtree was trying to do with him, then what does Meyer do ? he plays that one dimensional kicking robort Morning Stain
14 @ Raggie:
Yip, you’re happy to be a conceited fool when it suits you…
Unfortunately I cannot continue to entertain your feeble attempts at needling this afternoon, clients are waiting for me, have to be off to make the tills roll.
Just tell me one thing, which competition do you value more, Super Rugby (you know, it’s the one where the Sharks were a little fishie in a big pond) or the Currie Cup (the one where The sharks are big fishies in a little pond)?
Tjorts, I guess there is no contest…
15 @ Raggie:
Pat Lambie can’t even make The Sharks starting lineup in place of a newbie like Fred Zeilinga… now go figure.
@ grootblousmile:
Not that he can’t make the starting lineup…. all about tactics> Zeiliga has forged a great understanding with McLeod& Rienach Williams is getting the ball on the run, so why break up the combination now; Lambie will probably start next week.
Go and get those “Jewish organs working” ( Make the tills roll!)
@Raggie, would help if ANYONE plays Lambie, even the Sharks
@ Gena_ZA:
The Sharks are fortunate this season to have been able to adopt a rotation policy. Lambie has been “promised” a start in next week’s semi final { probably against the Cheetahs}
The Sharks at the moment are basing a lot of their attacking from the pivot; Zeilinga has proved that he has potential, although it has not yet been honed into a full product that can deliver results with expected frequency. He is a great runner with the ball and gets the offload to his supporting players, he does not stand back on his defensive role either. Lambie too has these attributes but they were not evident in the S15 as he was “playing to Meyer’s dictates”
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