Cape Town - Johan Goosen might not be ready just yet, but the Bulls are salivating at the prospect of unleashing new signings Wandisile Simelane and Sbu Nkosi in Saturday’s United Rugby Championship derby against the Lions.
Flyhalf Goosen has been out for about a year with a serious knee sustained against Cardiff early last season, and has been working his way to fitness over the last few months.
He told the Pretoria News during a recent URC sponsorship event in Doha that he was feeling good and taking part in full training, and he hopes to play himself back into Springbok contention for the end-of-year tour to Europe.
Bulls attack coach Chris Rossouw said yesterday after training at Loftus Versfeld that the 30-year-old would be back on the pitch soon, but was confident that Simelane and Nkosi would face the Lions at Ellis Park (4.05pm kickoff).
“With Johan, he is probably just past a year now (out injured). He is training this week. He had two weeks where he had a little bit of downtime – he had some responsibilities with the URC, when he had to go to Doha (and London), so he couldn’t train with us for one week,” Rossouw said.
“So, he is coming into the mix, and I think it will probably be soon when he is ready for selection.
“Wandisile came here with the other guys six weeks ago, and we’ve had a great time together. I think he fitted in quite nicely – very exciting runner with the ball – and he knows what his goals are for this season. But in terms of fitting in with the Bulls, it’s a perfect fit for us and we are looking forward to what he can do for us.
“The team hasn’t been selected. But we all knew when he (Nkosi) came here six weeks ago, there was a rehabilitation programme for him, to get to his full best.
“I think he is on his way there, so let’s see how the team looks. He played last week, when we played each other, he had a full game. He came through that perfectly, so I think he will probably be up for selection.
“In terms of getting to his full best, we all know coming back from injury, it takes a few games. But we are very happy with where he is at the moment.”
But the Bulls have top-quality flyhalves in Chris Smith and veteran Morné Steyn to call the shots on attack, and after the Bulls played some outstanding rugby in reaching last year’s final, they hope to continue in that vein against the Lions.
“It’s the first game of the season, so we all know that everybody would be a little bit short of breath. But it’s nice when it’s warm… It’s nice conditions to run and play our game,” Rossouw said.
“But I think for the first game out, we will definitely play (a style of) controlling the game, and see where our fitness is. We had a very good off-season, so the guys are really looking forward to going full pace.
“On Saturday, we will see where we are, but I am quite confident that we are in a good place to perform.”
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