The Bulls have been dealt a massive injury boost ahead of their United Rugby Championship (URC) semi-final clash against the Sharks at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria.

That is the return of fly-half Johan Goosen who slots right back into the starting XV in the only change to the run-on team from director of rugby Jake White.

Goosen has been sidelined with a knee injury that he sustained in the victory over Cardiff in round 17 of the URC and makes a timely return for the last-four fixture.

Goosen boost for Bulls

His return means that Keagan Johannes, who has impressed in Goosen’s absence, drops to the bench to provide cover at fly-half.

The remainder of the Bulls‘ backline that defeated Edinburgh last week remains in place with fellow Springbok Embrose Papier lining up alongside the returning pivot.

Harold Vorster and David Kriel start in the midfield with Canan Moodie and Sebastian de Klerk on the wings with Willie le Roux retained at full-back after his Man of the Match performance.

Up front, it’s an all-Springbok starting front-row in props Jan-Hendrik Wessels and Wilco Louw either side of hooker Johan Grobbelaar – who was a surprise omission from Rassie Erasmus’ squad named earlier this week.

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Cobus Wiese and JF van Heerden combine in the second-row as Ruan Nortje captains the team from the side of the scrum with Marcell Coetzee and Cameron Hanekom completing the pack.

White has opted for a five-three split on the bench with Akker van der Merwe, Simphiwe Matanzima, Mornay Smith, Jannes Kirsten, Marco van Staden providing impact in the packs while Johannes, Zak Burger and Devon Williams are named as backline replacements.

Commenting on the return of Goosen, White was not fazed about throwing him right back into the team, considering his injury profile throughout his career.

“One thing I know about him is that he’s always out and then in and then out and in so if anyone says ‘Listen, he’s not game ready’, that’s usually how he plays his career,” the Bulls boss said.

“If you’ve seen him in training, it’s like he has never been away. As I always say when it comes to the business end of the competition, you need your best players available and ready to play.”

He added: “To have him back, as a Springboks, and he is our number one 10 and then he have Keagan Johannes who played really well for us on the bench. So it’s a good position to be in.”

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Bulls team to face the Sharks

Bulls: 15 Willie le Roux, 14 Canon Moodie, 13 David Kriel, 12 Harold Vorster, 11 Sebastian de Klerk, 10 Johan Goosen, 9 Embrose Papier, 8 Cameron Hanekom, 7 Ruan Nortje (c), 6 Marcell Coetzee, 5 JF van Heerden, 4 Cobus Wiese, 3 Wilco Louw, 2 Johan Grobbelaar, 1 Jan-Hendrik Wessels
Replacements: 16 Akker van der Merwe, 17 Simphiwe Matanzima, 18 Mornay Smith, 19 Jannes Kirsten, 20 Marco van Staden, 21 Zak Burger, 22 Keagan Johannes, 23 Devon Williams

Venue: Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
Kick-off: 17:15 UK & IRE / 18:15 SAST
Referee: Andrew Brace (IRFU)
Assistant Referees: Sam Grove-White (SRU), Adam Jones (WRU)
TMO: Mike Adamson (SRU)
Live on: SuperSport, Premier Sports, TG4, URC.tv, FloRugby

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Src: Planetrugby.com - https://www.planetrugby.com/news/bulls-get-massive-johan-goosen-boost-for-sharks-showdown