Following a 22-21 win over Glasgow Warriors in the United Rugby Championship semi-final at Scottish Gas Murrayfield on Saturday, here’s our player ratings for the Bulls.
The backs
15 Willie le Roux: Struggled a tad with his radar when looking for territory in open play, but otherwise was a calming presence throughout as the Bulls booked their ticket to the final. 5
14 Kurt-Lee Arendse: A finger tip tackle on Kyle Rowe with six minutes remaining of the first half that forced a knock-on was vital and he backed that up with another piece of solid defensive work in the second period. Big moments that help win big games. 6
13 Canan Moodie: Grew into the match as it wore on and returned from an early second-half HIA in impressive form, especially on defence. His replacement (twice), Stedman Gans, arguably offered more though from an attacking sense. 6
12 Harold Vorster: Lost possession in contact with his first carry but made up for that by racking up some solid numbers with ball-in-hand. 13 carries for 38 metres while he also tallied double figures on his tackle count. 6
11 Stravino Jacobs: Such a handful when he gets up a head of steam and that was typified by the fact he didn’t see much ball but still managed to make 39 metres. 6
10 Handre Pollard: Will be a relieved man after this semi-final win. Pollard made no mistake with the first shot at goal as he landed a seventh-minute penalty, but after that, things unravelled. He couldn’t resist sticking a hand in the hope of halting a Glasgow attack and it cost him 10 minutes in the sin-bin and his team 14 points! While he landed his first conversion attempt, he was oddly inaccurate thereafter, missing three second-half penalty attempts in a row. 4
9 Embrose Papier: South Africa’s URC Player of the Season scored a crucial try early in the second half to get his side back to within six points. Such a threat around the fringes and he helped steer the Bulls to this impressive come-from-behind win. This is surely another performance that catches the eye of Springboks head coach Rassie Erasmus. 8
The forwards
8 Cameron Hanekom: A handful both with ball-in-hand and at the breakdown. His striding 15-metre carry from the left wing to almost the try-line that led to Francois Klopper’s try was breathtaking. He finished with 37 metres and also topped the turnover count with two, summing up just what a complete performance this was. 8
7 Elrigh Louw: His usual combative self in the carry as he racked up a decent 46 metres in a solid hour’s work before he took a breather. 6
6 Marcell Coetzee (c): Denied a first-half try after opposite number Matt Fagerson stripped the ball out of his grasp over the line. However, that didn’t knock the Bulls skipper as he toiled away for the full 80 minutes, leading his side to a famous away win. 7
5 Ruan Nortje: Another to see yellow in the first half as Andrew Brace pinged him for being on the wrong side of a Warriors maul. Topping that off was the penalty try being awarded, but otherwise it was a typical workmanlike hour from the Bok. 5
4 Ruan Vermaak: Also wasn’t at his best against an impressive Glasgow locking duo, especially in the first-half. Played his part in the comeback, though, as the Bulls turned the screw. 5
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3 Francois Klopper: Preferred over Wilco Louw as a starter and was solid at the set-piece, although he did cough up possession by sealing off when the Bulls were in a promising position. Got a close-range try for his efforts too on 53 minutes before Louw emerged 12 minutes later. 7
2 Johan Grobbelaar: Won a much-needed penalty at ruck time on his own 10-metre as his side desperately needed a lift at 21-3 down. More importantly, he crossed from close-range shortly afterwards to cut the lead down to 11. 16 tackles to go with nine carries in an 80-minute shift capped a fine day at the office. 8
1 Gerhard Steenekamp: One handling error, but the nuts and bolts of his game were on point, lending his considerable frame to what became a dominant Bulls scrum. 6
Replacements: It was a stacked bench named by Johan Ackermann and they didn’t disappoint, with Gans the standout in midfield. The forward options also turned the screw late on to secure the Bulls’ path to another URC final. 8
READ MORE: Glasgow Warriors v Bulls: Result, scorers, match stats, line-ups
