Goosen boots Cheetahs to victory
by Gavin Rich 04 February 2012, 19:10
Flyhalf Johan Goosen produced a faultless goalkicking and tactical display to spearhead the Cheetahs to a confidence building 22-14 win over the Stormers in a DHL pre-season series warm-up fixture at Newlands on Saturday.
The Stormers have enjoyed an impressive run in pre-season friendlies in recent years, and this was their first defeat in the build-up phase for several years, but the Cheetahs were better organised and dictated terms for most of the way.
In the home team’s defence they were fielding what looked like a second-string combination, with the first choices, excepting captain Schalk Burger, expected to play next week against the Kings in Port Elizabeth. It was still a morale-boosting win though for the Cheetahs as Newlands is never an easy venue for visiting teams.
Sias Ebersohn came onto the field in the last quarter and kicked a penalty from near halfway to seal the Stormers’ fate, but before that it was Goosen, considered the hottest newcomer to South African rugby in the last domestic season, who paved with three two penalties, a drop-goal and conversion while his opposite number Demetri Catrakilis missed three of his six attempts at goal.
Not that the Stormers lost just because of the kicks. The Cheetahs were much better than them tactically in the first half, dominating field position to lay the platform for their advantage on the scoreboard. The Stormers were first to score through a Catrakilis penalty in the 11th minute that put them 3-0 ahead, but Goosen responded with penalties in the 14th and 22nd minute, followed by a drop in the 26th, to put his team in control.
The Stormers did score the first try of the match though, with Deon Fourie burrowing over after an impressive build-up at the start of the second half to reclaim the lead for his team. But it didn’t last though, for the Cheetahs bounced back almost immediately with a well worked try to wing Rocco Jansen who powered through after snipe from the scrumhalf had drawn the defenders.
The Stormers did have a chance to get ahead again during an impressive middle stage of the match, the replacement centre losing the ball going over the line, but there were too many mistakes and they couldn’t sustain the pressure. The scrumming was better than the previous week but they lost an important lineout that had been set up by a penalty on the Cheetahs line.
Of the two teams the Cheetahs were more accurate and apart from their more accurate goalkicking it was their superior all-round efficiency was what won them the game.
Scores
Cheetahs – Try: Rocco Jansen; Conversion: Johan Goosen; Penalties: Johan Goosen 2 and Sias Ebersohn; Drop-goal: Johan Goosen.
Stormers – Try: Deon Fourie; Penalties: Demetri Catrakilis 3.