Blow for Bulls as main man Goosen cops URC suspension

The Bulls have received a massive blow on their road to the United Rugby Championship (URC) playoffs with flyhalf Johan Goosen suspended for their next three league fixtures. 

The 31-year-old was shown a straight red card after a head clash with halfback Craig Casey in this past weekend's 27-22 loss to Munster at Loftus Versfeld. 

READ | Bulls mentor White bemoans costly Goosen red card: 'Changed the outcome of the game'

The Bulls were leading 22-17 at the time with less than half an hour remaining, but they were always up against it once they went down to 14 men. 

In a statement released by the URC on Thursday, it was confirmed that the Bulls would be without their main playmaker for three weeks. 

"In the player's responses to the Judicial Officer overseeing the disciplinary process (Sheriff Kathrine Mackie, Scotland), he had accepted that he had committed an act of foul play which warranted a red card," the statement read.

"Sheriff Mackie found that the incident met the red card threshold, with entry of mid-range warranting six weeks. The player received three weeks (50%) mitigation due to his good record and apology to the player which results in a three game suspension."

The Bulls are currently fourth on the URC table with four league matches remaining before the knockouts, and they will be looking to at least maintain that position to secure a home quarter-final. 

With Goosen unavailable, they will likely turn to the reliable Chris Smith to wear the No 10 jersey over their next three matches while Jaco van der Walt is also an option for them. 

Saturday's clash against Ospreys kicks off at 15:00.