Johannes Lodewikus Goosen, or Johan to most of us, is a fine rugby player. Whether he has shown that often enough is another question, though.
That is why the latest controversy surrounding the 24-year-old Burgersdorp protégé (can we still call him that?) at Racing 92 is not surprising, but also disappointing.
Goosen has never been far from the wrong side of the establishment. That is almost forgivable if you have the track record of someone like Frans Steyn, who has virtually seen and done it all, and yet could still play an influential role in the Springbok team if he wants to take up that challenge.
But Goosen has a long road to walk to get to that level. There is no doubt about his ability as a playmaker at flyhalf – and not fullback, Allister Coetzee – but that is based largely on what he did for the Cheetahs in first half of the 2012 Super Rugby season.
I was present at the Subiaco Oval in Perth when Goosen made his Springbok debut as a 20-year-old, as a substitute for Morné Steyn. Coach Heyneke Meyer and selectors Peter Jooste and Ian McIntosh were reluctant to throw Goosen into the deep end by starting him, and they stuck with Steyn.
But the former Bulls stalwart battled with his decision-making, and also fluffed two ill-advised drop goals that saw Goosen come on for the last 10 minutes with Australia leading 26-19. And it was immediately apparent that the Cheetahs youngster belonged in Test rugby when he brought life into the Bok backline.
He said in a post-match interview with Independent Media afterwards about how nervous he was, and that he wouldn’t “take the honour for myself” after producing a few thrilling line-breaks.
Goosen was hitting it sweetly from all angles in training the next week, and should’ve started on the Saturday against the All Blacks in Dunedin. That was understood to be the plan early in the week, but it is believed that Meyer made a U-turn and went back to Steyn.
It resulted in a 21-11 loss for the Boks in a game where they should’ve beaten the All Blacks – just like the week before in Perth against the Wallabies – as Steyn missed four out of five goal-kicks in 49 minutes.
Meyer brought on Goosen with 21 to go, but despite a magnificent penalty from around 50 metres out to bring the Boks back into the game at 15-11, it wasn’t enough as Aaron Cruden slotted two late three-pointers.
Goosen was earmarked to be the Bok No 10 going forward, and was excellent as a starter against Australia at Loftus a few weeks later. But injury struck again as a sore heel and a knee injury hampered his progress against the All Blacks, and that has sort of been his journey since in national colours.
That prompted the move to Racing in France after another injury-disrupted Super Rugby campaign with the Cheetahs in 2014. Goosen hoped a change of scenery would change his luck too, while his bank balance would be boosted significantly as well – something that was important considering the number of injuries he had endured up to that point.
So, the promise was there, but it was unfulfilled. It wasn’t a smooth start for Goosen in Paris either, with reports of him being unhappy and battling to adapt to the cold winters. He wasn’t playing in the first team either, but stuck it out and reaped the rewards when he was voted the Player of the Year in the French Top 14 last season.
In that time, he had reinvented himself by playing mainly at outside centre – an unlikely position when he was playing in South Africa. But Bok coach Coetzee suddenly asked him to run out at fullback during the Rugby Championship in place of an inconsistent Willie le Roux.
Having failed to convince anyone that he was the answer at No 15, Goosen was left out again before being recalled for the final Test of the year against Wales as Coetzee shuffled his cards once more.
The confusion in selection added to the problems, but the fact remains that Goosen hasn’t proven to the South African rugby public that he can become a Bok mainstay.
The latest episode in his dramatic rugby career – ‘retiring’ from the game to work as a sales manager at a South African horse breeding company – won’t make him a popular figure, whether in South Africa or France as Racing boss Jacky Lorenzetti feels it is just a front to get out of his contract.
The latest rumours, from French rugby paper Midi Olympique, is that Goosen could be moving to English club Gloucester. He was first linked with Montpellier despite singing a contract extension until 2020 with Racing 92 a few months ago, and the Gloucester route has emerged as Montpellier owner Mohed Altrad has applied to buy shares in the West Country side.
It is a pity that the circus continues around Goosen, who has allegedly ducked and dived from Racing training as well in recent weeks. He should be concentrating on his game and develop into a world-class flyhalf that could reignite the Boks.
Perhaps, with the recent SA Rugby decision to allow third parties to own up to 74 percent of a commercial arm of a local union, there is someone in South Africa who could bring Goosen home to play for one of the Super Rugby franchises.
He has the ability to become a long-term Bok solution at No 10, but still needs to prove that he is worth all the hype…
@ashfakmohamed