After their 43-33 defeat in their United Rugby Championship clash against the Lions at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria, here’s how the Bulls players performed on Saturday.
Bulls player ratings v Lions
15 Willie le Roux: Not a game the experienced outside back will remember fondly as he had some shaky moments on attack on several occasions. Also spilt some high balls and although he tried to get his side back into the game, with some daring moves with ball in hand, it just wasn’t his day. 4
14 Sebastian de Klerk: The Springboks hopeful showed his class with brilliant attacking play before setting up Embrose Papier for a try in the opening half, and continued to ask questions of the Lions’ defence throughout this clash. He was eventually rewarded with a well-taken try in the second half. 7
13 David Kriel: He had some good attacking moments early on, but was forced off in the 20th minute due to injury, with Stedman Gans replacing him. N/A
12 Jan Serfontein: The former Springboks star had a quiet game by his standards as he offered little with ball in hand and came off second best in his direct duel with Lions rookie Bronson Mills. Replaced at half-time by Cheswill Jooste. 4
11 Stravino Jacobs: He caught the eye with some barnstorming runs in the first half and set up Papier for his second try in similar fashion to De Klerk. Was less prominent after the interval. 6
10 Keagan Johannes: Although his goal-kicking was solid and he crossed for a try, his overall play was average as he did not manage to unleash his dangerous outside backs. 5
9 Embrose Papier: Along with De Klerk, the Springboks scrum-half looked dangerous with the ball in hand and was rewarded with a brace of tries after running good support lines. Also provided a slick service to his team-mates but had little support. Replaced by Paul De Wet in the 73rd minute. 8
Bulls v Lions: Five takeaways as ‘Springboks-drained’ hosts surrender Loftus record while rookie inspires drought-ending victory
The forwards
8 JJ Theron: The young Bulls number eight looked lively during the opening half and made some powerful carries but was stopped in his tracks on a couple of occasions. Despite that, he did not give up, but did not give his side much momentum and came off with an injury on the hour-mark. 5
7 Reinhardt Ludwig (c): The Bulls skipper toiled manfully but did not make a big impact on proceedings. Made some strong carries but was kept in check by the visitors’ defence. 5
6 Jeandre Rudolph: He battled to get going on attack and although he was a willing ball carrier, his efforts did not have the desired effect which led to Cobus Wiese replacing him early in the second half. Came back on when Theron was forced off but had little influence. 4
5 JF van Heerden: He won several lineout balls and did his bit on defence, but apart from that, he did not really catch the eye in other areas. 5
4 Jaco Grobbelaar: Like van Heerden, he did what was expected of him in the lineouts but struggled in other areas and came off after 58 minutes with Springboks star Elrigh Louw making his long-awaited return from injury. 5
3 Francois Klopper: The scrum battle was evenly contested, and Klopper did what was expected of him in that department during a 58-minute stint before being replaced by Mornay Smith. 6
2 Akker van der Merwe: Along with fellow snubbed Springbok Papier, he was the best of a bad bunch as he took the fight to his opponents with a fine performance. Van der Merwe made eight carries and crossed for a deserved try on the stroke of half-time. He continued to ask questions of the Lions’ defence but was eventually taken off in the closing stages with Nico Steyn replacing him. 8
1 Alu Tshakweni: Like fellow prop Klopper, was solid in the scrums and also caught the eye with a high work-rate on defence, especially at close quarters. Replaced by Sti Sithole after 70 minutes. 6
Replacements: Although there was a strong cameo off the bench from former SA U20 star Jooste, who tested the Lions’ defence with several excellent runs, the rest of the Bulls’ substitutes did not bring much energy to the cause. Among the forwards, Wiese had some good moments and it was good to see Louw back in action after his lengthy stint on the sidelines, but none of the other replacements stood out. 5
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