Jake White backs ‘student of the game’ Smith to fill Goosen’s boots

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 on Munster’s Craig Casey in last weekend’s 27-22 defeat. The loss of Goosen is a huge blow 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 Goosen’

 White said Smith is not a like-for-like Goosen replacement, but he offers something different.

“To be fair, with Goosen, there isn’t a like-for-like for him,” White said. 

“He’s a guy that has played (No) 13 for a French Top 14 club, and won 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, it’s very difficult to find that kind of guy to back up. 

“Chris has got his own strengths, he’s calm, he understands the game, and he’s a good student of the game. He and Harold Vorster (starting at 12) get on really well on and off the field. There’s something in there that works for us,” he said.

Jaco van der Walt still adjusting

White 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. He’s been basically with us half a season, so he’s still not where we want him to be,” White said

“It’s 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 don’t always have to take your 10 off,” he said.