Player of the Season Goosen primed for Loftus showdown

For Goosen, this recognition is more than just an individual honour; it’s a testament to his resilience and growth after a challenging inaugural season in Scotland.

“It was a pretty amazing award to win,” Goosen shared, reflecting on his Player of the Season triumph. “After my first year here, it was a little goal of mine to try to win that award and I guess I came close last year. It is a nice feeling but it’s a team sport and everyone makes my job easy.”

His first year at Edinburgh was indeed a tough one, marked by injuries and the inherent adjustments of moving across the world and adapting to a new style of rugby.

“The first year was very tough. It was a bit of a shock to the whole system with the injuries, and a new environment, trying to find my feet over this side of the world, with a new style of rugby. It was all quite a lot and my body didn’t hold up well. But it’s always nice to come out the other end and see some reward for that.”

This Saturday’s match holds a special significance for Goosen as he returns to the country of his birth. Although he moved to New Zealand at the age of four, South Africa remains a strong part of his identity.

“I do love going back to South Africa,” he admitted. “I’ve got a lot of family members there. A lot of them live in Pretoria so they will come out and watch, which will be nice.”

He anticipates a lively reception, joking, “I think there’ll be a mix of strips – half-Bulls, half Wes Edinburgh.”

His South African roots run deep. “I still see it as home. Mum [Kim] and Dad [Alan] are full South African so that is part of myself and who I am. They are very proud South Africans, my parents, and my family is very South African, so when I go and see them, it’s a bit of a culture shock. But I’m very proud of it.”

Facing the Bulls is always a formidable and physical challenge, and Goosen has experienced both sides of the coin against them this season, having lost to them but also secured a victory.

“I’ve always enjoyed playing the South African teams. They’re very physical, very competitive. In my head, they’re one of the best in the world. If we can beat them, it shows the way we are going as a club, that we’re becoming very good.”

When asked about the key to overcoming the Bulls, Goosen emphasised a strategic approach combined with self-belief.

“I think [you need to be] smarter and we just back ourselves. The performances we have put in over the last four or five weeks show our trajectory is going up. We are showing we can compete with the best. Seeing Bath play at the weekend [v Lyon in the Challenge Cup final], that could have been us.”

The memory of past encounters, including a bonus-point victory against the Bulls last season and a dominant first 60 minutes in their recent Challenge Cup quarter-final win over the Pretoria outfit, fuels Edinburgh’s confidence.

“Yeah, it gives us the confidence it can be done,” Goosen affirmed. “For the first 60 minutes of the game here in Edinburgh [Challenge Cup QF], we really dominated and then we let them back in.

“But if we do what we do, we push them and stay in the hard moments, I think we can go toe to toe with the Bulls. It’s not going to be easy. They are a very physical team with a lot of superstars, but you look at our team – we’ve got good players as well.”