Ackers: All Blacks will be Test-ready a week before series opener

VIDEO: Johan Ackermann expects the All Blacks to bring a Test-match mentality to Loftus Versfeld when they face the Bulls on Saturday, with New Zealand’s first Test of the Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series only a week away.

The All Blacks arrived in South Africa in late July for their historic seven-week, eight-match tour, with the Bulls clash coming as their third fixture against South Africa’s franchise teams.

Ackermann believes the proximity of the opening Test will ensure the All Blacks are fully switched on when they face the Bulls this weekend.

“We expect that they’re going to probably, obviously, come with a Test-match mentality on Saturday because it’s a week before the first Test,” Ackermann said.

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That makes the challenge even greater for a Bulls side that is still finding its feet after a shortened off-season.

The Bulls reached the United Rugby Championship Final in late June, meaning they finished their campaign later than the other South African franchises. Their preparation for the new season has consequently been compressed, with the All Blacks fixture arriving at a time when they would normally only just be returning to training.

Ackermann admits the timing has left his team short of the preparation they would ideally have wanted.

“It’s not to use it as an excuse, but the fact that we went to the final means we had less time to prepare than the other franchises,” he said.

The Bulls were supposed to give their players five weeks off, but that was reduced to three weeks because of the early start to preparations.

“Conditioning is one thing, but your body, after three or four weeks, loses its contact ability. So, we had to fast-track all of that,” Ackermann explained.

“If this game wasn’t there, we would probably have been in a conditioning phase only. So, it has put a bit of pressure on us.”

Ordinarily, Ackermann would have wanted one or two warm-up matches before taking on a team of New Zealand’s calibre. Those games would have allowed him to test combinations, assess form and gradually build match fitness.

Instead, the Bulls are effectively being thrown straight into one of the biggest challenges of their season.

“Normally you play a warm-up match or two, you trial stuff, see if it works and see which players are in form,” Ackermann said.

“Now we’re basically picking from the squad we’ve got left.”

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New Zealand have been using their opening matches to assess their options, with players competing for places ahead of the Test series.

“I think they’re really trying to just see who else can push for these jerseys,” Ackermann said.

“So maybe they’re a little bit individualistic at the moment where they’re fighting for those spots. So, you have to take that into account.”

The Bulls coach also believes the All Blacks are still adapting to a new environment after arriving in South Africa and expects them to be a significantly tougher proposition by the time the Tests begin.

“It is a change of environment. It is a change of travelling, guys getting used to playing in South Africa,” he said.

“In a sense, we don’t want to read too much into that Stormers game. I think they’re just going to get better and better.

“One of the best sides in the world, if you get it wrong, they can punish you,” he said.

With the URC still weeks away, Ackermann accepts that his side is not where it would normally be at this stage of a season.

“It’s a great occasion, but we will definitely be a bit underprepared from where we want to be,” he said.

“We’re building up to the URC and that’s still a few weeks away, so we don’t want to peak now.”

The fixture will also provide an important examination for the Bulls’ younger players, many of whom have never experienced anything like the intensity and occasion of facing the All Blacks.

Ackermann has been encouraged by the way the Bulls’ new arrivals have integrated into the squad, like Curwin Bosch, Hanro Liebenberg and Thaakir Abrahams.

“They came in and just slotted in so amazingly,” Ackermann said.

“Just the character of the people that are Thaakir, Hanro, Curwin, all of them. They just slotted in and they’ve already contributed,” he said, adding, “Even though they haven’t played, just the way they deal with the players, just the way they contribute on the field is amazing.”