Bulls director of rugby, Jake White, has backed flyhalf Chris Smith to fill in the boots of the suspended Johan Goosen when they take on Ospreys in the United Rugby Championship on Saturday at Loftus Versfeld (kick-off 3pm).
Goosen was slapped with a three-game suspension following his red card for a high tackle onMunstersCraig Casey in lastweekends 27-22 defeat. The loss of Goosen is ahugeblow for the Bulls as he has been influential and a regular feature for them, contributing 114 points this season.
For their Ospreys clash, White has opted to start with Smith in the No 10 position instead of Jaco van der Walt, who covers flyhalf on the bench.
Smith not like GoosenWhite said Smith is not a like-for-like Goosen replacement, but he offers something different.
To be fair, with Goosen, there isnt a like-for-like for him, White said.
Hesa guy that has played (No) 13 for a French Top 14 club,andwon the league and played fullback. Not many flyhalves, maybe Damian Willemse, could be the equivalent in another franchise that could go from 10, 12, 13, and 15 as Goosen can. So,itsvery difficultto find that kind of guy to back up.
Chris has got his own strengths, hes calm, he understands the game, and hes a good student of the game. He and Harold Vorster (starting at 12) get on really well on and off the field. Theres something in there that works for us, he said.
Jaco van der Walt still adjustingWhite elaborated on why Van der Walt was not the preferred option, saying the former Scottish international is still adapting to how the Bulls play as he joined in the off-season.
Jaco has only been with us for a year and we have been together for four seasons. Hes been basically with us half a season, so hes still not where we want him to be, White said
Its not his fault, I have spoken to him. One of the things we are trying to get to, especially at 10, is to get (players) that can cover more than one position. When you have a guy that can play two positions on the bench, you dont always have to take your 10 off, he said.
