Bulls player ratings vs New Zealand | Rugby's Greatest Rivalry 2026

Bulls player ratings: The Bulls had a formidable start at Loftus Versfeld, but having two tries scrubbed off badly hurt their chances of making a game of this one as the All Blacks gradually clicked through the gears.

There was plenty of endeavour and plenty of physicality from the hosts, yet it often felt as though every big moment went against them in the opening 40. To their credit, the Bulls were far better after the break and finished with some fight, even if the result had long since been put to bed by half-time.

15. Willie le Roux – 5.5
The will was certainly there from the veteran full-back, who was forever looking to make something happen. Unfortunately, the first half in particular was littered with errors and one knock-on in the build-up denied Hanro Liebenberg a score after a chaotic chase involving Fabien Holland. Kept plugging away and never stopped asking questions.

14. Thaakir Abrahams – 5
The former Munster wing was eager to get involved in the early exchanges and hunted work off his touchline. However, it was a tough evening defensively. Lakai bruised him aside for one New Zealand score and there was another missed tackle on the All Blacks No.8 later in the contest. One of those nights.

13. Stedman Gans – 5
Was game and kept throwing himself into the fight, but there were times he was used as little more than a speed bump by the visitors. Didn’t help himself when Anton Segner turned him over, with the All Blacks flanker seemingly everywhere at the breakdown.

12. Harold Vorster – 4.5
A borderline nightmare defensive first half from the experienced midfielder. Some direct carries early on offered a glimpse of promise, but he was somewhat guilty on the opening All Blacks try as a flowing attack ripped the Bulls apart. Four missed tackles before the interval told the story.

11. Stravino Jacobs – 7.5
Saw virtually no ball whatsoever during the opening 40 and could easily have drifted out of the game entirely. Instead, he exploded into life once opportunities started coming his way after the break. Finished sharply for the Bulls’ second try after a lovely pass from Curwin Bosch and looked dangerous whenever he got a sniff.

10. Curwin Bosch – 7
The new signing looked keen to attack whenever he had possession and probably deserved a little more front-foot ball than he received. Didn’t exactly enjoy an armchair ride behind a pack under pressure, but still managed to influence matters positively, including the assist for Jacobs’ score.

9. Embrose Papier – 5
His box-kicking was excellent in the early stages and helped the Bulls establish promising territory. Was game throughout, but perhaps didn’t quite hit the standards that earned him a Springbok recall on the back of his URC form. A solid rather than spectacular outing.

8. Jeandre Rudolph – 8
An eventful evening. Penalised for not releasing inside two minutes and later suffered the indignity of having his shorts hauled down in an incident that somehow found its way to the TMO. Beyond that, he tackled his guts out, was a nuisance around the breakdown and played a key role in putting Jacobs away. There were a few turnovers and errors mixed in, but the endeavour never wavered. Also came up with an important defensive intervention just after the hour.

7. Hanro Liebenberg – 7
Had a difficult moment when Fabien Holland smoked him for pace in a chase behind the All Blacks defence, but showed excellent presence of mind to dive on the loose ball after the giant lock made a mess of things. It would have been a try but for Le Roux’s knock-on earlier in the movement. Worked hard throughout.

6. Marcell Coetzee – 8.5
The Bulls’ best player. Produced a magnificent break on nine minutes that got the hosts into the All Blacks 22 and he was comfortably their most effective carrier all evening, beating the gainline repeatedly and racking up more than 60 metres. Deservedly got a try on 73 minutes to add some polish to an otherwise painful scoreboard.

5. JF van Heerden – 6
Put in plenty of work in the trenches and never stopped trying to hold back a relentless All Blacks pack. Not always successful, but few Bulls forwards could be accused of shirking the physical battle and Van Heerden grafted away for the full shift.

4. Ruan Vermaak – 8
Relatively quiet initially before producing one of the Bulls’ best moments of the evening. Came alive in the second half with a huge carry that smashed over the line. After a lengthy review, referee Nika Amashukeli overruled the on-field decision and awarded the try. A deserved reward for a wholehearted shift.

3. Francois Klopper – 4
A rough night for the 130kg prop, who is normally one of the Bulls’ most reliable scrummagers. Found himself mashed by the considerably lighter Xavier Numia in a scrum on 12 minutes and things never really improved from there. Added a yellow card to his woes before the evening was out.

2. Juann Else – 5.5
Thought he had opened the scoring after 10 minutes only for the effort to be ruled short following a TMO review. Also knocked on late in the first half as frustrations mounted. Worked hard around the field, but it never quite came together.

1. Alulutho Tshakweni – 5.5
Fared better than Klopper in the scrum stakes but wasn’t able to exert much influence elsewhere around the park. Battled away honestly enough without producing any major moments.

Replacements – 7
The bench appeared to do a better job stemming the All Blacks tide, although that may have been helped by the result already being safely tucked away. Elrigh Louw added a bit of violence on both sides of the ball, while Paul de Wet did a fine job steering things from scrum-half. Sti Sithole and Khutha Mchunu also gave the Bulls a noticeable lift at scrum time as the hosts finished with more resistance than they had shown during a difficult first half.