The Bulls powerhouse who deserves Bok call-up

OPINION: Jeandre Rudolph has repeatedly been one of the Bulls’ best performers in the United Rugby Championship and one of the best in the competition.

Round Five of the URC saw the Bulls run in eight tries against the Scarlets at Loftus to go into the November international break on a high.

It was far from a perfect performance, but Rudolph was flawless as he led the charge in the second-half demolition of the Welsh outfit.

He put in another man-of-the-match performance, making 19 carries for 69 metres, scoring the opening try for the hosts, assisting another with a beautiful offload, and making a try-saving tackle.

It’s hard to imagine Rudolph’s performances getting any better, but as he has shown us in his time with the Bulls, he always has a higher gear.

The former journeyman has been consistently brilliant for the Bulls and certainly deserves a crack at the highest level.

Across the four URC games he has started this season, he has made 47 carries for 156 metres, three linebreaks, beaten eight defenders, and scored three tries. On defence, he has completed 41 tackles at a rate of 10.25 across his four games.

His numbers place him in the top five percent of No.8s for passing – with 30 passes made with 100 percent accuracy, while he also ranks among the top five percent in his position for try assists.

The former Cheetahs loose forward has won the third-most turnovers in the URC, six, despite playing in four of the Bulls’ five games.

He also scored a try in their Champions Cup match against Stade Français when he came off the bench, a match the Bulls won 56-20 in Pretoria.

And it wasn’t just any run-of-the-mill five-pointer.

Receiving the ball on the right wing inside his own half, Rudolph chipped over a rushing defender, regathered and dotted down for a try that could rival the kind of marvels Bok wingers sometimes treat the world to.

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Opening round and there’s an early contender for Try of the Season 🤯💥

Jeandre Rudolph gets Loftus on its feet 👏

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— SuperSport Rugby (@SSRugby) October 17, 2026

He has built a reputation as a feared breakdown operator, and his irrepressible work rate has seen him star for the Bulls week in and week out, but he has often brings much more than what the standard loose-forward checklist requires.

Even more impressive has been his consistency.

The 32-year-old finished last season with 20 turnovers, more than anyone else in the URC. This season, it has been more of the same from the industrious baller.

While he can play anywhere in the loose trio, having done duty mostly at No.8 for the Bulls, his brilliance over the ball, ball-carrying ability, and mobility have seen him shine at openside flank as well. He has the versatility.

His form is impossible to ignore, even in the context of the national picture.

The Springboks have depth all over, but they are particularly spoilt in the loose trio.

With Siya Kolisi, Jasper Wiese, Paul de Villiers, Cameron Hanekom, Emmanuel Tshituka, Pieter-Steph du Toit, and Marco van Staden in the Nations Championship squad for the Tests against Italy, France, and Ireland, and the likes of Kwagga Smith, Elrigh Louw, Evan Roos, Ben-Jason Dixon, Deon Fourie, and Vincent Tshituka also in the Bok backroom, the list of options is extensive.

And that’s not even taking into account the hot in-form Juarno Augustus and Hacjivah Dayimani, or even players like Jean-Luc and Dan du Preez. Consider them as well, and the list becomes extensive, but by no means exhaustive, even with a number of those players unavailable due to injury.

While the Boks are bursting at the seams when it comes to back-row options, form should be rewarded, as Bok boss Rassie Erasmus has consistently done, and at franchise level, Rudolph has managed to outshine many of his compatriots, and that’s saying something considering the kind of rugby some loose forwards have been playing locally.

The fact that Fourie became a Bok at 35 means that Rudolph’s age shouldn’t be a disqualifier. And even with the bottomless pit of back-row forwards at South Africa’s disposal, the World Cup being one year away makes depth as important as ever.

Rudolph has been otherworldly. Better yet, he has been in the form of his career for some time now and has managed to maintain it.

Maintenance, however, implies remaining in the same, constant state, but that is not what the Bulls star has done.

He has topped one outrageous performance with another, week after week, month after month, and has truly got better with age.

And that kind of quality deserves the highest recognition.