Bulls player ratings: Cameron Hanekom in a ‘different class’ as late call-up ‘obliterates’ Munster after Springbok’s withdrawal
Cameron Hanekom (INPHO/Steve Haag Sports/Deon van der Merwe) and an inset of Francois Klopper (INPHO/Bryan Keane/EPCR Rugby).
Following the Bulls’ 45-14 victory over Munster in the United Rugby Championship quarter-final, here’s how we rated Johan Ackermann’s charges at Loftus Versfeld.
Bulls player ratings
15 Willie le Roux: A wonderful try assist for Arendse showed that the ageing legs still have plenty of trickery left in them. Le Roux flexed his trademark distribution throughout his performance, which saw Jacobs go over in the second half. He also didn’t waste possession often, which has been a shortcoming in his game of late. 7
14 Kurt-Lee Arendse: Bursts of impacts in the game with stretches where he was somewhat quiet, but when the opportunities arise to punish the opposition, Arendse usually takes it, and that’s precisely what he did. 7
13 Canan Moodie: Guilty of forcing the issue on occasion, leading to two turnovers conceded. He also missed a few tackles, but that had little impact in the grander scheme of things as more often than not, he forced the Munster attack into errors and troubled their defence. 6
12 Harold Vorster: He made some strong carries into the Munster defence but Vorster surrendered possession on four occasions and slipped a few tackles. 6
11 Stravino Jacobs: Like Arendse, he did well in winning the scraps from the high balls but also conceded possession a couple of times. He did get on the scoresheet with a well-taken try. 6
10 Handre Pollard: The kind of game where Pollard really shows his class as he dovetailed wonderfully with Le Roux in the playmaking axis. He also slotted all but one of his seven shots at goal for a 15-point haul while his high bombs were on point again. He wasn’t required to produce a clutch moment but was cool throughout. 7
9 Embrose Papier: Playing with an extra swagger after his inclusion in the Springboks’ alignment camp, Papier did what he has been doing all season: scored tries. His first was classic scrum-half play as he supported the attack and latched onto Hanekom’s offload to score. His second was another 70-odd metre sprint away as he left Munster defenders in his dust. That took his URC tally to 11 for the season and while those were the highlights of his game, he did his core role requirements well too. His box kicks were accurate and his service swift too. 8
8 Cameron Hanekom: It’s difficult not to get hyperbolic about Hanekom’s performance today. He was quite simply of a different class in every facet of the game, hammering into tackles, winning turnovers, assisting a try and scoring one himself. It’s a real shame that he has just one Test cap to his name right now, but on today’s evidence it’s merely a formality that he adds to his tally. It’s a true mystery why he wasn’t at least a nominee for man of the match. 9
7 Elrigh Louw: The entire Bulls back-row was fantastic today with Louw also enjoying an all-round superb outing for the men in blue. It was a classic blindside flanker performance as he thundered through a massive tackle count, carried aggressively and was excellent at lineout time. 8
6 Marcell Coetzee (c): The captain very rarely has a poor game, and with a semi-final spot up for grabs, he did not disappoint. Coetzee simply went about ticking all the boxes on both sides of the ball, making solid hits in defence and carrying strongly. 7
5 Ruan Nortje: In probably his final Bulls’ home game before his move to Japan, Nortje produced the kind of shift that has made him one of Loftus’ favourite sons. He topped the carry count for the side, made 14 tackles, and ran the lineout superbly. Stock standard for Nortje who never fails to give his all. 8
4 Ruan Vermaak: A sharp operator in an efficient tight-five performance. He did well to let the ball loose to Hanekom for Papier’s first try, won two turnovers and avoided the referee’s whistle in an all-round strong outing. 7
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3 Francois Klopper: A late call-up to the starting XV with Wilco Louw withdrawing through illness and Klopper quickly went about making his mark with a powerful first scrum with no reward before obliterating the Munster set-piece, shunting them off their own feed, which led to a try. That set the tone for his performance at the set-piece, with the greatest compliment we can pay him is that Louw’s absence was not noticeable. 8
2 Johan Grobbelaar: The best on the park along with Hanekom. Grobbelaar played the entire 80 minutes, completed 20 tackles, scored a try, and was incredibly accurate at the lineouts while playing his part in a dominant scrum. 9
1 Gerhard Steenekamp: Melted the Munster scrum in what a was brutal display at the set-piece in tandem with Klopper and Grobelaar. A bit quiet around the park, mostly just hitting rucks but that mattered little as his real influence in the scrums. 8
Replacements: Ackermann emptied his bench in the final quarter of the game when the job was largely done. Jan-Hendrik Wessels and Mornay Smith maintained the scrum dominance while Cobus Wiese and Jeandre Rudolph got stuck in up front. However, the Bulls will be wary that they must get more from their bench against Glasgow next week, particularly in attack. 6
