Following a 45-21 victory over Cardiff in the United Rugby Championship clash at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday, here are the player ratings for the Bulls.
15 Willie le Roux: Imperious from the Springboks great, who was the hosts’ creative linchpin as the backs finally came to the party. Le Roux has been tried at fly-half this season but there is no doubt that he remains one of the best full-backs around with his ability to spot space in the wider channels. 9
14 Canan Moodie: Linked really well with Le Roux, benefiting from his back-three partner’s vision with ball-in-hand. Moodie was a constant threat, while his aerial skills were exceptional and enabled the Bulls to create opportunities and retain possession. 8
13 David Kriel: Solid on both sides of the ball and did his job effectively, but Kriel has struggled a bit for form over the past few months. 6
12 Harold Vorster: Scored a nice try after latching onto Moodie’s good work and displayed his physical qualities throughout. Carried hard and was strong defensively, including getting a fine breakdown turnover. 7
Menace to Cardiff
11 Sebastian de Klerk: Touched down twice, but his performance was much more than just that. De Klerk always looked for work, took good lines and was one of their most potent attackers. 8
10 Johan Goosen: Not on long enough to judge after going off with a concerning leg injury. N/A
9 Zak Burger: Did his job exceptionally well by moving the ball swiftly from the base and also kept Cardiff’s defence honest around the fringes. His kicking also gave the chasers plenty of chances to compete, which Moodie did very effectively. 8
8 Cameron Hanekom: Some good work in both attack and defence from the number eight as the Bulls pack dominated the Cardiff forwards. Some explosive carries, but not quite as dominant as he can be. 7
7 Ruan Nortje (c): Has played a couple of games on the flank now and looks very much at home, making some dents in attack and doing good work defensively and in the set-piece. 8
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Test-like performances
6 Marcell Coetzee: Not too many better-performing flankers in South Africa this season, quite frankly. It seems unlikely that Rassie Erasmus will turn to the 34-year-old given the depth they have, but he is producing displays which deserve Test recognition. 8
5 JF van Heerden: A young player who continues to grow in stature, with the 21-year-old key to the Bulls’ lineout. It was pretty effective throughout as the front five laid a good platform. 7
4 Cobus Wiese: The powerhouse in the engine room, as Wiese won the battle at close quarters, while he also showed some decent wheels when a hole opened up for him. 7
3 Wilco Louw: Week on week, the tighthead dominates the scrum in the URC, and it was no different against Cardiff. For some, it could get boring always talking about Louw’s brilliance, but not for us with the prop an absolute machine. 8
2 Johann Grobbelaar: His off-load to Moodie for Vorster’s try was sumptuous and it was the highlight of another fine showing from the industrious hooker, who surely deserves more Springboks chances this year. 8
1 Jan-Hendrik Wessels: The versatile front-rower put in another fine shift as he dominated in the set-piece and did plenty of good work around the field. 8
Replacements: Akker van der Merwe was a ball of energy, while Keagan Johannes once again stepped up well at fly-half, but the hosts’ intensity rather dipped in the latter stages as the rest of the bench failed to bring the required impact. 6
Src: Planetrugby.com - https://www.planetrugby.com/news/bulls-player-ratings-willie-le-roux-the-creative-linchpin-as-industrious-forward-deserves-springboks-shot
