Ackermann explains why Bulls are not staying in Ireland for Final
The Bulls headed back to South Africa, following their dramatic 22-21 United Rugby Championship semifinal comeback win against the Glasgow Warriors, a performance coach Johan Ackermann described as ‘right at the top’ of his proudest and most satisfying moments.
Coming back from 3-21 on the half-hour mark, the Bulls kept Glasgow scoreless for the next 50 minutes for one of the greatest comebacks in the Pretoria team’s history.
They will take a ‘few days’ for R&R with their families, before starting preparation for the Final against Leinster on Friday, June 19, at Croke Park, the only suitable stadium available in the Dublin area for next weekend’s Final.
It will be the Bulls’ fourth appearance in the Finals in five years, but they have lost all three previous Finals.
This is a rematch of last year’s Final, when Leinster won 32-7, also at the famous 82,000-seater Croke Park in Dublin.
Bulls coach Johan Ackermann said he will ‘freshen up’ the players back home, confirming the decision to return to Pretoria.
“We are going to give the boys a few days to recover before we start planning and building for the Final.”
After their Champions Cup Round of 16 play-off loss to the Glasgow Warriors back in April, the Bulls opted to remain in Europe to prepare for fixtures against the Dragons and the Scarlets.
However, this time round, ‘home comforts’ and ‘time with their families’ are the desired recipe ahead of a trip back to Ireland.
(WATCH as Bulls coach Johan Ackermann explains the decision to return home to South Africa from Ireland, ahead of the URC Final next week Friday…..)
Handre Pollard’s rare day off with the boot and some first-half defensive lapses in the semifinal against Glasgow are amongst the issues they will work on back home.
Ackermann said they made some ‘minor adjustments’ on defence at half-time in the Murrayfield semifinal, and it had the desired results.
“The boys showed a lot of character, with the ball and without the ball,” he told Rugby365.
The coach said the comeback was ‘special’.
Turning to Pollard’s erratic performance, he quipped that the double World Cup winner will be ‘practising his goalkicking’.
“The one game where he missed [several kicks] won’t make him a bad player.
“Those missed kicks had the added advantage that they kept Glasgow pinned in their own half, and luckily the missed kicks didn’t influence the result.”
@JanDKrugby
@rugby365com
