Posted it in the thread but maybe better to post it here too:
Top tackler for each team: Wiese 17 / Vincent 8
Most meters: De Klerk 98 / Mapimpi 121
Defenders beaten: De Klerk 7 / Mapimpi 6
Clean breaks: De Klerk 2 / Mapimpi 4
Successful carries: Nortje 3 / Esterhuizen 9
Offloads: Coetzee 2 / Esterhuizen 3
Imagine if Andre was playing for the Bulls.
Wiese played a key role in Kriel’s try and with those tackling stats has really put his hand up for Bok selection.
De Klerk and Hooker were both superb. Mapimpi had some moments
Wilco ruled in the scrums, Ox seems less effective in this Sharks pack.
Papier had his best game I can remember. Some of the Bools old salts Coetzee and Vorster were good value. Kriel was much superior to Am.
Disappointments include Fassi, Willie, Am, Goosen , Koch, Kolisi and any Hendrikse you can name.
It’s a shame about Hanekom….what a sad way to end a great season.
Agree with you about most of your comments - but would add Esterhuizen to the list of disappointments you mentioned.
Bad news for the Sharks and Springboks injury concern. Etzebeth suffered a head injury in training which may mean another concussion problem. He was off for a long period due to concussion in November 2024 until April 2025 so we must hope that this one will not end up being the end of his illustrous Springbok career,
The great prospect player Hanekom suffered a hamstring injury - and thnking about what happened in the case of Willemse who did not play rugby for 4 months because of a simiral and accordig to White he was trying to calm down a depressed Hanekom that he will be back playing rugby hopefully this year,
Hanekom did not have a top class performance yesterday - he made a bad mistake in taking Kolisi out of a mall and was yellow-carded. After his return he was injured when Kolisi took him out of the match and probably ending up ta four or five months absence from playing rugby again.
There is no clarity about the final medical assessments iro of both Etzebeth and Hanekom and we will have towait or further news on the situation of both players,
By Ross Roche
Senior sports writer
3 minute read
8 June 2025
07:35 am
Bulls loose forward Cameron Hanekom returns to the side of the field on crutches after going off with a hamstring injury during their URC semifinal win over the Sharks at Loftus on Saturday night. Picture: Anton Geyser/Gallo Images
The Springboks and Bulls suffered a huge Cameron Hanekom blow when he limped off with a serious looking injury during his side’s 25-13 United Rugby Championship (URC) semifinal win over the Sharks at Loftus on Saturday night.
Hanekom, who has enjoyed another fantastic season, and was recently named the URC’s Next-Gen Player of the Season in recognition of his scintillating form, will now miss the URC final and likely a chunk of the coming international season, where he was expected to feature for the Boks.
He picked up a hamstring injury in the second half of the match, after a clean out at the ruck, and after being carted off on the medic golf cart, he returned to the side of the field near the end of the game on crutches.
“He’s just having a sonar (scan) now. Obviously he’s very upset, that’s natural. But I said to his parents now that we forget he’s just 21,” said Bulls Director of Rugby Jake White during the post match press conference.
“When I started coaching, 21 year old forwards weren’t invited to Northern Transvaal training. And if they were it was really to be cannon fodder for the old men to bash them on a Monday night (in training).
“So he’s obviously jumped the queue because he’s so talented, and he feels a bit down now. But we mustn’t forget he’s just 21 years old, and there’s still a lot of rugby that he’s going to be involved in over the next few years.”
Although it is too early to know the extent of the injury, White said that he will definitely be out of the URC final against Leinster in Dublin this coming weekend, but admitted to being hopeful that the injury would not be as serious as it looked when he was taken off the field in obvious discomfort.
“When it is swollen and there’s blood (in the injury), you can’t really see (how bad it is). They had a look and he won’t play next week, that I can tell you.
“He thinks he can. He said he might go to the same doctor (Johan) Goosen went to (after a recent knee injury that also looked very serious),” joked White.
“But I can’t see it. He can’t travel with that injury. I’m hoping for his sake it’s like Goosen, a short-term rather than a long-term injury.”
With the Springbok season kicking off at the end of this month with a match against the Barbarians in Cape Town, followed by the Incoming Series against Italy and Georgia in July, unless he is very lucky, Hanekom will probably be ruled out of those four games.
We will now have to wait and see whether he will recover in time for the Rugby Championship, kicking off in August, or if he will be ruled out for a number of months, which we will learn once he is properly assessed.
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