Bulls sweat on playmaker Goosen's availability for Stormers clash

The Bulls will have an anxious week ahead of them regarding the fitness of flyhalf Johan Goosen.

Goosen, who started in a strong Bulls lineup against Western Province in a Currie Cup clash on Saturday, limped off the field during the encounter that the Pretoria side lost 31-7.

Whether he will be fit for the upcoming United Rugby Championship (URC) quarter-final in Cape Town next weekend remains to be seen.

Speaking after the match, Bull assistant coach Hugo van As believes that Goosen should be fit for the encounter but acknowledged the pivot had felt a hamstring twinge in the warm-up before the game. 

"Johan picked up a knock in the first half, and we wanted to protect him," Van As said after the match.

"I am not 100% sure about it. In the warm-up, he felt a tweak in his hamstring [but] he was cleared by the medical staff [to play]," said Van As.

"At half time, he was complaining. When I left the change room, they were still busy examining him. I think he should be fine."

While Western Province stuck mainly to the players that have represented them in the Currie Cup so far this season, the Bulls, with Jack White saying last week that he wanted continuity, picked a virtual URC lineup for yesterday's clash.

Province, however, ran out easy winners as they mastered the conditions far better than the Bulls, who, while having plenty of possession, made numerous mistakes throughout the match.

Saturday's URC encounter will kick off at 15:30.