Ackermann still searching for 'missing piece of the puzzle'
SPOTLIGHT: Bulls head coach Johan Ackermann will hope to find the answer regarding a lingering question he’s been searching for throughout his coaching career.
Ackermann was asked on Friday at the Bulls’ team announcement press conference ahead of their United Rugby Championship quarterfinal against Munster if he had identified the missing piece of the puzzle to get the Bulls over the line in Finals rugby.
*Also read: URC, Quarterfinals – Saturday’s Teams and Predictions
The Pretoria-based side lost all three URC Finals they played in under former coach Jake White, including a painful defeat in 2024 at Loftus Versfeld against Franco Smith’s Glasgow Warriors.
Ackermann, who tasted domestic Finals success with the Lions when they won the 2015 Currie Cup and with Red Hurricanes in Japan, is yet to taste intercontinental success.
The Bulls boss said that he doesn’t have the answer to that question yet after experiencing several heartbreaks in finals defeats.
“It’s a difficult question. I’ve made a lot of finals but haven’t won them, so I’m also searching for that [missing piece] of the puzzle.
“The only [Final] I won was in Japan [with Red Hurricanes]. When I went to Gloucester, we played in the Challenge Cup Final and lost in the final minute when Cardiff slotted a late penalty.
“I looked back at the match, and we led quite comfortably, and in the second half, the momentum swung.
“You lose by a point and ask yourself what the missing piece of the puzzle was? How did you let this one slip?
“You do a lot of introspection looking for answers.”
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Ackermann, however, stated that several times it’s not necessarily a case of a missing piece of the puzzle but just how the dice rolls sometimes, where a team’s season could be defined by one or two crucial moments.
“When it comes to play-off games, we believe in the team, the players and the plan.
“But from kick-off until fulltime – there are numerous things that can influence the match, and hopefully we’ll be on the right side of everything.
“It’s a difficult thing to pin down what the missing link is when you don’t win a Final.
“The Springboks won a World Cup with three [consecutive knock-out] one-point victories, and each of those teams will question what the missing link was.
“In reality, it might have come down to one decision – a steal from Kwagga or a scrum [penalty] against England.
“That’s why we just need to be accurate on Saturday before we can think about a semifinal and Final.”
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