Bulls player ratings: Willie le Roux goes from the ‘sublime to the ridiculous’ as Springboks star risks citing with ‘potentially naughty’ act
Following a 28-27 victory over Connacht in the United Rugby Championship (URC) clash in Galway on Friday, here are the player ratings for the Bulls.
Backs
15 Willie le Roux: From the sublime to the ridiculous. At the heart of the visitors’ attack, with the majority of their successful moves coming through the Springboks great, but Re Loux still comes up with some terrible errors from time to time and his final 10 minutes almost cost his side. Thankfully, his incredible work before that proved to be the decisive factor in the contest, and not the denouement. 7
14 Canan Moodie: The odd mistake aside, Moodie was a constant threat. Part of a potent back three, the Boks back showed his pace and athleticism to cause problems Connacht rearguard.7
13 David Kriel: Another solid shift from the centre who ran hard and defended well as the Bulls generally controlled the physical exchanges. 6
12 Jan Serfontein: See his centre partner. Serfontein did look to get his hands free on occasion but that also came with some mistakes. 6
11 Sebastian de Klerk: Fantastic yet again from the flying wing. De Klerk did so many excellent things in attack as he regularly tore through the hosts’ defence. 8
10 Keagan Johannes: Not necessarily a fly-half that will win you a title but Johannes, who is usually a scrum-half, has built nicely on last season and filled in superbly at 10. Another composed display. 7
9 Paul de Wet: Showed excellent support play to touch down twice but much of the good work was done by his team-mates. De Wet did his core duties very effectively and played a key role in this URC success. 7
Forwards
8 Jeandre Rudolph: Put in a massive shift defensively, especially in the first half, before becoming a primary carrier after the break as the Bulls made some metres through the middle. An outstanding effort. 8
7 JJ Theron: The youngster, who starred in the Junior Springboks’ U20 success earlier this year, put himself about but is still adapting to senior level and he was not their most effective forward in Galway. 6
6 Nama Xaba: Like Theron, the work ethic was there but there were better performers in that Bulls forward eight. 6
5 Reinhardt Ludwig: A mammoth shift from the lock. While the lineout had its wobbles, Ludwig’s work in defence was significant in them getting the win. 8
4 Cobus Wiese: Not quite as influential as his lock partner, but there was still plenty of good things from Wiese, who is a workhorse in the engine room. 6
3 Wilco Louw: Perhaps unsurprisingly, Louw was dominant in the set-piece as the Bulls continuously marched forwards in the scrum. 7
2 Jan-Hendrik Wessels: An odd game from the versatile front-rower. While there was plenty of good, there was a breakdown in communication at the lineout and his throwing wasn’t always accurate. And then there was the potentially naughty incident with Josh Murphy, which led to the Connacht flanker’s red card. Although the cameras couldn’t quite pick up the incident that resulted in Murphy reacting, something certainly happened and you wonder whether Wessels will be cited. 5
1 Alulutho Tshakweni: Like Louw, he was excellent in the scrum but his work around the field was also useful as he put in some good work in defence. 7
Replacements: Gerhard Steenekamp gave the Bulls even more dominance in the scrum and his front-row partner Johan Grobbelaar also made a good impact, but elsewhere it wasn’t quite so impressive. Connacht almost snatched the victory but the visitors just about did the job. 5
