Latest news with #Goosen
Scotsman
4 days ago
- Sport
- Scotsman
Edinburgh Rugby fail to make history as season ends sharply amid emotional farewells on Highveld
Everitt's men lead at break - but South Africans roar back in play-off Sign up to our Rugby Union newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... A three-try salvo at the start of the second half delivered a fatal blow to Edinburgh Rugby's hopes of making history in the United Rugby Championship and brought their season to an abrupt end. Sean Everitt's side had taken the game to the Bulls in their own backyard, starting with energy and confidence at Loftus Versfeld. They led 21-8 after 29 minutes through three converted tries but conceded 31 unanswered points thereafter to lose their grip on this quarter-final. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Edinburgh had never won a knockout tie in the URC and they will have to wait another year for their next crack at it. The Bulls proved too strong in the end, winning an 11-try thriller 42-33 to secure a home semi next weekend. Bulls' Cameron Hanekom barges through the Edinburgh defence. | Getty Images The match brought the curtain down on a number of illustrious Edinburgh careers as Jamie Ritchie, Ali Price, Mark Bennett and Javan Sebastian played their final game for the club. All played a significant part as the visitors made sure they left it all out there on the Highveld. To score five tries at altitude is no mean feat but the Bulls went one better and were ultimately too strong for the enterprising visitors. Reaching the play-offs feels like progress for Edinburgh and they also made it to the quarter-finals of the Challenge Cup, a big improvement on last season when they laboured to 10th place in the URC. Ross Thompson has proved to be a key signing and the former Glasgow Warriors stand-off really stepped up in Pretoria, scoring two tries and landing four conversions before a yellow card stymied him. Wes Goosen also bagged a double and there was a try from Ewan Ashman as Edinburgh tried to claw their way back in the second half. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Early flashpoint It was compulsive viewing and the first flashpoint came after only three minutes. As Darcy Graham chased his own chip up the right wing he was taken out by Sebastian de Klerk who turned his shoulder into the Edinburgh winger's face. Play continued but referee Adam Jones went back for another look and sent the Bulls man to the sin-bin. Edinburgh plundered 14 points while he was off the field, scoring two excellent converted tries through Goosen and Thompson. The first came in the fifth minute as the visitors built the phases then worked it wide, with Hamish Watson finding Goosen. The second score was even better. After a big carry by D'arcy Rae, Edinburgh slipped the ball out to Thompson who sold the Bulls a dummy before darting over. In between, Keagan Johannes landed a penalty for the hosts. Ali Price tries to clear the ball for Edinburgh. | Getty Images The return of de Klerk sparked the Bulls into life and Cameron Hanekom got them back into the game, powering between Ashman and Harry Paterson to score their first try after a lineout maul was halted on the Edinburgh line. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad It was hot at Loftus Versfeld and tempers began to boil over. Ritchie was involved in a scuffle on the floor and referee Jones had a word with both captains. The Bulls were awarded a penalty but Ritchie made amends immediately with a trademark turnover. The altitude, weather and backing were all in the home side's favour but it was Edinburgh who were full of vigour and they scored a delightful third try. It was an intricate lineout move which saw the ball skilfully worked out to Thompson was spun away from his would-be tackler to notch his second. Edinburgh brittle lead With half an hour on the clock, Edinburgh were 21-8 ahead and it seemed too good to be true. Two Bulls tries in the final eight minutes of the half was therefore something of a reality check. Willie le Roux created the first for David Kriel and then Harold Vorster finished off a devastating Bulls break after a well executed chip and chase from de Klerk. Both conversions were missed - Johannes the first and Kriel the second - and it meant Edinburgh preserved a fragile 21-18 lead at the turn. It wasn't to last. The Bulls moved ahead for the first time in the match and scored three quickfire tries at the start of the second half to all but kill off Edinburgh. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Le Roux is a wily operator and he drew Graham out of the line before delaying his pass to Moodie to score. Johannes, back on kicking duties, converted and suddenly everything was coming up roses for the fly-half who then scored a try of his own, dancing his way through a tired Edinburgh defence. Their superiority was confirmed when Ruan Nortje bulldozed his way over as the Bulls moved 39-21 ahead. Bulls' David Kriel looks to evade the attentions of Edinburgh's Jamie Ritchie. | Getty Images Edinburgh, to their credit, found a second wind and they scored two more tries to drag themselves back into contention. Ashman piled over from close range and Thompson converted to reduce the lead to 39-28 and there was the added bonus of a yellow card for Bulls lock J F Van Heerden for persistent offending. Unfortunately, Edinburgh then butchered the restart and Thompson deliberately knocked on in an attempt to stop the Bulls scoring a seventh try. He too was sent to the sin-bin and Johannes kicked the penalty to make it 42-28.
The Citizen
7 days ago
- Sport
- The Citizen
SA-born Wes Goosen: Edinburgh can beat Bulls again
SA-born fullback Wes Goosen expects Edinburgh to 'go toe to toe' with the Vodacom Bulls in Saturday's URC quarter-final at Loftus Versfeld. Goosen was born in East London before emigrating to New Zealand with his family at the age of four. He represented Wellington and the Hurricanes before joining Edinburgh in 2022. The 29-year-old returns to South Africa for Saturday's URC quarter-final against the Vodacom Bulls and will have relatives watching in the stands. The Bulls beat Edinburgh 22-16 in the URC league stage last October, but lost the EPCR Challenge Cup quarter-final against Sean Everitt's side at Hive Stadium, 34-28. Watch: Edinburgh embrace Bulls' challenge 'It gives us the confidence it can be done,' said Goosen of that play-off victory. 'For the first 60 minutes of the game in Edinburgh, 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.' Also read: We're as ready as we'll ever be – Jake The post Goosen: Edinburgh can beat Bulls again appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.
Scotsman
27-05-2025
- Sport
- Scotsman
'Upwards trajectory' - Edinburgh Rugby's player of season flies south with confidence
Goosen will be back by family in Pretoria Sign up to our Rugby Union newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Wes Goosen believes Edinburgh are on an upwards trajectory as they return to the United Rugby Championship play-offs after an absence of three years. The squad flew out to South Africa on Tuesday for Saturday's quarter-final against the Bulls and it's a sort of homecoming for Goosen who was born in East London but emigrated to New Zealand with his family at the age of four. There will be some relatives at the match at Loftus Versfeld as Edinburgh look to beat the Bulls again having got the better of them at home in the Challenge Cup quarter-finals last month. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Wes Goosen helped Edinburgh beat the Bulls in the EPCR Challenge Cup quarter-final. | SNS Group 'It gives us the confidence it can be done,' said Goosen. 'For the first 60 minutes of the game here in Edinburgh, 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.' Goosen has been excellent for Edinburgh and was a deserved winner of their player of the season award. The campaign hasn't always gone smoothly but a run to the semi-finals of the Challenge Cup followed by important bonus-point wins over Connacht and Ulster in the URC points to progress in what is head coach Sean Everitt's second season in charge. 'The performances we have put in over the last four or five weeks show our trajectory is going up,' said Goosen. 'We are showing we can compete with the best.' The Bulls, under the guidance of World Cup-winning coach Jake White, were beaten finalists in the URC in 2022 and 2024 and will be favourites on Saturday but Goosen is relishing the chance to pull off an upset in his homeland. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad
Miami Herald
27-05-2025
- Politics
- Miami Herald
Ernie Els and Retief Goosen's Trump Visit Sparks Backlash-'Quite Troubling'
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa took golfers Ernie Els and Retief Goosen to his White House meeting with Donald Trump but there has been some backlash to what they said there. Trump had asked Ramaphosa to bring along the sportsmen for the Oval Office meeting on Wednesday and while many South Africans praised Els and Goosen for voicing their concerns about violence in the country, others spoke out against them. Newsweek has contact Els and Goosen, via email, for comment. The hope was that Els and Goosen—two Afrikaaner golfers who have eight major championship wins between them—would help to woo Trump, a keen golfer who owns two golf courses. "If there was Afrikaaner farmer genocide, I can bet you these three gentlemen would not be here," Ramaphosa said referring to Els, Goosen and South African billionaire Johann Rupert. The genocide comment referred to claims about attacks on white farmers in South Africa. However, some South Africans feel the golfers "didn't do much good," posting their criticism on social media. Els said he was a proud South African and acknowledged Ramaphosa's role in the anti-apartheid struggle, before going on to say: "I know there's a lot of anger through the transition—there was a lot of stuff happening in the apartheid days. You know we grew up in the apartheid era, but I don't think two wrongs makes a right." He went on to say later: "I feel we need the U.S. to push this thing through. We've got a great ally—the U.S. has always been an ally of South Africa for a very long time, even in the days of the war in Angola, you know you guys helped us. So, very important for us to have your support and get the change we need." Goosen detailed his life in the farmland area of Polokwane and said that while his family "live a great life despite everything going on," they have been attacked. "They're trying to burn the farms down to chase you away, so it is a concern to try and make a living as a farmer," he added. Matšhela Koko, a former executive at Eskom, South Africa's state-owned electricity utility, wrote on X: "Ernie Els expressed his gratitude to Donald Trump for the United States' support of South Africa during the conflict in Angola. This situation is quite troubling. These people still miss Apartheid South Africa." South Africa's apartheid regime got involved in the Angolan Civil War—a Cold War proxy conflict that erupted after Angola gained independence from Portuguese colonial rule in 1975—to fight the People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola, a Marxist party. While America did not deploy its own forces alongside apartheid South Africa, it did provide support that bolstered the country's intervention. Several other South Africans referenced Els' nod to this relationship in their critiques, including writer Sizwe Sikamusi, who said: "Ernie Els made this clear when [he] thanked Donald Trump for the United States 'helping' the Apartheid regime in Angola. By doing this, Els revealed the persistence of a parallel Afrikaner consciousness that remembers Apartheid not with shame, but with pride and nostalgia." "For Els to thank the US for Angola is to openly align with the Apartheid regime's logic and to see that period not as a shameful episode of regional imperialism, but as a proud moment of Western solidarity and military action," Sikamusi added. He also said: "While Black South Africans are often urged to 'move on,' 'focus on the future,' or 'stop living in the past,' White South Africans, particularly within the Afrikaner establishment, continue to carry, revere, and even celebrate their past." Entrepreneur Lynette Engelbrecht wrote: "The golfers were there by Trump's request so of course they didn't do us much good." Writer and media figure Mvelase Peppetta said: "Ernie Els waxing about the good old days of the Border Wars in the Oval Office is why I never 100% trust a white person." "There are so many nice things he could've said about U.S./SA relations & he chooses to go back to when the U.S.A was supporting the apartheid regime," said the activist, who is followed on X by the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), the party featured in most of the four-minute video Trump played during the meeting showing its leader, Julius Malema chanting "kill the Boer." Newsweek has broken down the history and legal context of the controversial phrase, which has recently been deliberated on in a South African court. In 2022 the Equality Court of South Africa ruled that the chant does not constitute hate speech. Malema argued that the chant was not literal, rather that it was "directed at the system of oppression." EFF fan Rushé Cawa took aim at Goosen, writing on X: "I never want to see Retief Goosen in this country again." The EFF and Malema have repeatedly criticized the South African delegation that visited Washington, saying South Africa had been "embarrassed" and calling the meeting an "interaction dominated by white privileged men, who have amassed wealth at the expense of African people." Sihle Lonzi, the head of the EFF's Students' Command, posted a photo of Els, Goosen and Rupert, saying: "Cyril Ramaphosa has surrendered South Africa's Foreign Policy to these three Golfers! Johann Rupert, Ernie Els, and Retief Goosen." Although Rupert is not a golfer he serves as chairman of the South African PGA Tour and chairman of the South African Golf Development Board. Not all South Africans agreed with the criticism of the golfers. Katia Beeden, a campaigner for "persecuted minority South Africans" and spokesperson for Amerikaners, a group that supports "disenfranchised South Africans seeking a new future in the United States" praised how the meeting went. "It was very intense, and I think it was very brave, and necessary, and it was the first time ever the ANC and Cyril Ramaposa have been called out for their crimes," she told Newsweek. "So, yeah, I am absolutely delighted that the rot and the corruption and the death has been called out and exposed for the world to see. And let's hope that it's going to bring out positive change," she added. Volkstaat, an account advocating for "independence and freedom for Afrikaaners," wrote on X: "This is pure gold. Ramaphosa brought two white Pro golfers (Retief Goosen and one other) to show there's no systemic genocide of whites. This backfired when Retief told everyone his dad's farmer friends were murdered." Gilbert Martin, the founder of the group We Are South Africans (the largest independent civil-society movement in South Africa), thanked Els, Goosen and the others present at the White House in a Facebook post praising the meeting. "Did anyone notice that during the media briefing between South Africa and the United States, not just one but our entire government, including the official ruling party, opposition, ministers, organized labour, sportspeople, and big business, were all present in the White House Media Room," he said. "They openly discussed our many pressing issues, with each of them speaking honestly about the concerns raised by the United States." Els said: "We proud South Africans. I still have my South African passport. We travel with these passport and I got my visa here. So we wanna see things get better in our home country, that's the bottom line. "It's been 35 years since the transition. President Ramaphosa was in the middle of the transition at the time, in 1990, and before that. So it's been 35 years of ANC government and I know there's a lot of anger through the transition – there was a lot of stuff happening in the apartheid days. You know we grew up in the apartheid era, but I don't think two wrongs makes a right. "You know, President Mandela, when he came out of prison for all that time, didn't come out with hatred, you know, and really unified our nation through sport. You know we won the Rugby World Cup in '95." He went on: "We won the African Nations Cup in soccer, you know we've won some majors as golfers and so forth. So what I'm trying to say is – this has been a long time coming. That's why we really wanted to meet you, meet the administration and see our way forward, because we still want see our country flourish. You know, we've got so many great things going on – businesses getting involved with government, farming, farmers are getting involved in local municipalities trying to rebuild some of the infrastructure that's been decaying for a long time. So there's a lot of co-existence going on and help from a lot of areas. But we need – I feel we need the U.S. to push this thing through. We've got a great ally – the U.S. has always been an ally of South Africa for a very long time, even in the days of the war in Angola, you know you guys helped us. So, very important for us to have your support and get the change we need." Goosen said: "I grew up in an area in South Africa that is a farmland area – Polekwane – and there is some issues up there, obviously. My dad was a property developer as well as part-time farmer and yeah, some of his buddy farmers got killed. The farm is still going, my brothers run it. But that's a constant battle with farms trying to get – they're trying to burn the farms down to chase you away, so it is a concern to try and make a living as a farmer. And, at the end of the way, you know, without farmers, there's no food on the plate. So we need the farmers. "You know, food and fresh water is the most important thing in life. Without those two things, you can't survive." Trump then asked: "Your family and your brothers—do they feel safe on the farm?" Goosen answered: "They live behind electric fences you know, tryna be at night safe. But it is constant, whenever you leave, that something could happen. Both of them have been attacked in their houses, my mom's been attacked... It is difficult but you know the guys live a great life despite everything going on." 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RTÉ News
25-05-2025
- Sport
- RTÉ News
Harrington two off lead ahead of Senior PGA final round
Pádraig Harrington is just two shots off the lead heading into the final round of the Senior PGA Championship at Congressional. A topsy-turvy third round saw the Dubliner post a one-over-par 73 which included six dropped shots which were more or less offset by five birdies. The 2022 Senior US Open champion sits on three-under-par overall. Darren Clarke is one-over-par overall after a third-round 76, leving him in a tie for 23rd place. Retief Goosen and Angel Cabrera are among four players tied for the lead on five-under-par. Jason Caron and England's Phillip Archer also part of the tie at five-under after Saturday's windy third round at Congressional Country Club. Seven others, including Harrington, are within two shots of the lead. South African Goosen shot four-under 68 for the best round among the co-leaders. He had six birdies and two bogeys. Argentina's Cabrera shot 70 while Caron and Archer each carded a 71. "You've just got to go out there and play shot for shot and see what happens," Goosen said. "If you make a lot of birdies, great. If you don't, well, somebody else here is going to, especially if conditions improve." Cabrera made four birdies and two bogeys, while Caron and Archer each had four birdies and three bogeys. Stewart Cink (71 on Saturday) and England's Lee Westwood (68) are one shot back at 212. The pack at three-under includes Harrington and Fiji's Vijay Singh (75). Also part of the group is Sweden's Robert Karlsson (73), Denmark's Thomas Bjorn (73) and South Korea's YE Yang (75). Cink had three birdies and two bogeys. He saw some of the names near the top of the leaderboard and it reminded him of former times on the PGA Tour. "As you can see, the players up there have won a lot on hard golf courses," Cink said. "This course is really demanding, with the wind especially. It's just seemed like every hole, there is a place you just cannot go and you have to know where that is and game-plan for it and you have to execute. That's just major championship golf. "It feels like a major out there. It's really challenging. Those names up there have all had some success." Justin Leonard (73), England's Richard Bland (73) and Denmark's Seren Kjeldsen (74) are tied for 12th at two-under. Harrington, playing with Sweden's Robrt Karlsson, gets his final round underway from 6.10pm Irish time while Dungannon man Clarke is off at 4.30.
