Here’s what we thought of Jake White’s Bulls after their 59-22 loss to Northampton Saints in the Investec Champions Cup quarter-finals.
Bulls player ratings vs. Northampton Saints
15 Devon Williams: He started the season as a loan player, but his performance earned him a full-time contract. He has been a consistent performer, but this was one of the Bulls’ worst. Problems under high balls, heavy tackle attempts, limited impact on attack. 3
14 Sebastian de Klerk: He scored a stunner from an interception, but a second score was disallowed due to an illegal tackle by Cameron Hanekom. He was a threat when he touched the ball, but had little help defensively. 6
13 Henry Immelman: Saints’ first two tries were defensive faults resulting from his misreading, and in that try he also made a botched tackle on Ollie Slightholm. He has previously played in the same position at Montpellier, but today he looked out of place and off the pace. 2
12 Harold Forster: Like his central partner, Vorster also made critical mistakes in defense, but Saints made the most of them. He wasn’t as poor as his midfield partners, grunting somewhat with his carries, spreading the ball well at times and taking some nice kicks into touch. Five
11 Stravino Jacobs: Another back who struggled defensively as George Hendy and Slightholm rampaged through. He made one try-saving tackle on Hendy, but also had some handling errors and had little success all night. 3
half back
10 Chris Smith: Some poor passes put pressure on the midfielder, and as the match wore on his influence waned and he was substituted in the 66th minute. Four
9 Zack Burger: Some of the box kicks weren’t long enough to be contestable. He looked like a scrum-half lacking game time and game sharpness, which had a knock-on effect on the performance of the rest of the backline. Four
Northampton Saints beat a depleted Bulls with nine tries and head to face Leinster in the Champions Cup semi-finals
Planet Rugby player evaluation key.
loose forward
8 Cameron Hanekom: At this point, it’s only a matter of time before he makes his debut with the Springboks. Even with the yellow card, he’s close to the best player on the pitch for both teams. This may have been the Bulls’ second team, but there is no doubt that Hanekom will be White’s first choice team when it counts. 8
7 Mpilo Gumede: Like Hanekom, Gumede is arguably one of the Bulls’ best players and he once again showed that with a combative and intense performance from the first whistle to the end. 7
6 Nizam Khar: The Bulls’ back row was not the reason for the defeat at Franklin’s Gardens, as Kerr put in a convenient shift as soon as he returned to England. 6
Lukhanyo Am and Makazole Mapimpi reenact historic Rugby World Cup final try
tight five
5 JF van Heerden: He was the only player to start against Lyon and Northampton Saints last week. The 19-year-old has risen to the challenges of his debut season, adding some decent shifts, especially defensively. He conceded two penalties but showed promise again. 6
4 Janko Swanepoel: You know what you’re going to get from a second-line player every week. It’s a relentless workload. He went out and checked the box. Five
3 Mornay Smith: A comical moment when the prop chased the grubber, denying his opponent a try. He kept his own scrum together in the first half. Five
2 Acker van der Merwe: His lineout throws continue to be a problem for live wire hookers, and they proved costly today as well. He scored tries and was committed around the park. 6
1 Simphiwe Matanzima: Like his fellow props, he had the scrum together before Saints took the lead. He was caught near the ruck for Saints’ first try of the second half and was hooked shortly after. Five
Replacement: The starters managed to make the game somewhat competitive, but the bench could not recover from there as Saints dominated up front with Dylan Smith and Francois Cropper filling the scrum. 3
read more: Bulls at odds with EPCR over controversial Champions Cup team selection – Report
