Vodacom Bulls playmaker Johan Goosen has been named the Golden Boot winner of the 2022-23 Vodacom United Rugby Championship.
After the URC StatMaster numbers were crunched, he finished top of the tree with a 90% success rate having kicked 36 out of 40.
Capped 13 times by the Springboks, Goosen saw his 2021-22 season cut short by a knee injury and missed half of the current campaign due to shoulder surgery.
The 30-year-old converted 10 of the Bulls’ 11 tries in the 78-12 victory against Zebre Parma in Round 17 to equal the record number set by Duncan Weir for the Glasgow Warriors in 2016.
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Bulls teammate Chris Smith was just behind on 89.09% while Ospreys’ Gareth Anscombe, last season’s winner, had a 100% success rate from his 10 kicks but was ineligible this time.
The Fans’ Player of the Season winner will be announced later on Wednesday. The Coach of the Season and Players’ Player of the Season will be revealed in the build up to the final between the DHL Stormers and Munster on Saturday, 27 May.
URC Awards 2022-23 winners:
Top Try Scorer: Tom Stewart (Ulster)
Tackle Machine: John Hodnett (Munster)
Turnover King: Thomas Young (Cardiff Rugby)
Next-Gen Player of the Season: Tom Stewart (Ulster)
Elite XV: Kurt-Lee Arendse (Bulls), Darcy Graham (Edinburgh), Sione Tuipulotu (Glasgow Warriors), Daniel du Plessis (Stormers), Simone Gesi (Zebre Parma), Ross Byrne (Leinster), Grant Williams (Sharks), Gavin Coombes (Munster), Scott Penny (Leinster), Vaea Fifita (Scarlets), Federico Ruzza (Benetton), Niall Murray (Connacht), Finlay Bealham (Connacht), Dan Sheehan (Leinster), Steven Kitshoff (Stormers)
Try of the Season: Joaquin Riera (Benetton)
Ironman: Quan Horn (Lions)
Golden Boot: Johan Goosen (Bulls)
Photo: Ben Brady/INPHO/Shutterstock/BackpagePix