Bulls player ratings: Shambolic Springboks’ errors ‘prove costly’ in embarrassing loss to Bristol Bears
Experienced Bulls and Springboks playmakers Willie le Roux and Handre Pollard (inset).
After their 61-49 defeat in their Investec Champions Cup clash against Bristol Bears at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria, here’s how the Bulls players performed on Saturday.
Bulls player ratings v Bristol Bears
15 Willie le Roux: The veteran Springbok threw a wayward pass early on and Noah Heward pounced before racing away to score a try. Although Le Roux kept on trying on attack, he continued to make some crucial errors. One of those was a cynical defensive foul deep inside his half early in the second half and Bristol crossed for two converted tries during his time off the field. Le Roux set up a try for Sebastian de Klerk with a cross-field kick and scored one himself, but those efforts came too late as his earlier indiscretions proved costly in the end. 4
14 Sebastian de Klerk: The Bulls speedster was forced off the field early in the opening half and Sergeal Petersen came on to replace him, but De Klerk returned to the action in the 20th minute and gave his all on attack before scoring a late consolation try, although he battled in defence. 5
13 David Kriel: He was restricted mostly to defensive duties, especially in the first half, but missed several tackles in that department. Kriel did score a well-taken try after running a good support line early in the second half but was eventually replaced by Stedman Gans on the hour mark. 4
12 Harold Vorster: Made a brilliant line break shortly after the start of the second half and set up Kriel for his try but was anonymous in the opening half as he battled on attack and missed numerous tackles on defence. 4
11 Stravino Jacobs: The powerful winger caught the eye with a strong run in the build-up to Jeandre Rudolph’s try and then showed off his finishing skills when he outpaced the cover defence to cross for his try midway through the opening half. Continued to give his all on attack and crossed for another try in the first half. Also battled defensively. 5
10 Handre Pollard: He was caught flat-footed on defence when Benhard Janse van Rensburg burst through his channel for the opening try and battled to get his backline firing on attack. Like fellow Boks playmaker Le Roux, his error rate was high throughout. Apart from a poor defensive display, Pollard kicked the ball directly into touch late in the opening half before knocking on a routine pass from which the Bears capitalised and scored another try. 4
9 Embrose Papier: The Springboks scrum-half looked dangerous with ball in hand early on and launched some clever box kicks but was caught in possession on a couple of occasions. Gave his all on defence but became less influential as the match progressed and was eventually replaced by Zak Burger after 64 minutes. 5
The forwards
8 Jeandre Rudolph: Although the Bulls were on the back foot during the game’s early stages, Rudolph was in the thick of the action from the outset and started his side’s mini fightback with a well-taken try. Also did brilliantly with a deft offload to Jacobs for his try and emptied the tank at the breakdowns where he won two turnovers. 7
7 Elrigh Louw: The Springboks loose forward was a willing ball carrier but made little impact as he was stopped in his tracks on several occasions. He toiled manfully on defence before Mpilo Gumede replaced him in the 65th minute. 5
6 Marco van Staden: Although the 2023 Rugby World Cup winner put his body on the line in the execution of his defensive duties, he was less visible when executing his other core duties. Although he gave his all at the breakdown battle, he was overshadowed in his duel with Bristol skipper Fitz Harding. 4
5 Ruan Nortje (c): The home side’s skipper and Springboks lock was one of the Bulls players who can hold his head high as he gave his all for the full 80 minutes. Was solid in the lineouts and did his bit on defence while also impressing as a ball carrier. 6
4 Cobus Wiese: Another Springbok tight forward who emptied the tank during his stint on the field as he did what was expected of him in the execution of his core duties before he was replaced by Ruan Vermaak in the 58th minute. 5
3 Wilco Louw: He wasn’t his usual dominant self at scrum-time as Max Lahiff held his own against him at the set-piece before Ellis Genge came on at half-time. Louw subsequently conceded a scrum penalty against Genge before being replaced by Mornay Smith in the 51st minute. 4
2 Johan Grobbelaar: Like most of the Bulls, this was not the Springbok hooker’s best day at the office. Finished with a match-high 17 tackles made but was chasing shadows most of the time and was eventually yanked off with Akker van der Merwe replacing him in the 58th minute. 5
1 Jan-Hendrik Wessels: Won a crucial turnover at a breakdown early on and stood up well in the scrums but like Louw he did not dominate in that facet of play. Was solid with ball in hand before Gerhard Steenekamp replaced him in the 58th minute. 5
Replacements: The Bulls’ forward replacements took the fight to their opponents when they entered the fray with the likes of Gumede, Steenekamp, Smith and Van der Merwe leading the charge as ball carriers. That created try-scoring opportunities for their backs and although all those chances were not taken, the Bulls were more competitive during the game’s closing stages. 7
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