Scrum dominance with zero reward: Bulls rue missed chances
REACTION: The Bulls’ inability to turn dominance into tries was a major source of frustration as they succumbed to the Sharks in their United Rugby Championship Round Seven encounter in Durban on Saturday.
Although they spent a considerable amount of time in the Sharks’ 22, they were unable to convert that into points and lost the game 12-21, having never scored a try.
The Bulls’ flyhalf Handre Pollard kept them in the fight through penalties, thanks to poor discipline by the Sharks early on.
Bulls coach Johan Ackermann rued his side’s inability to score any tries in a game where they had complete dominance in the scrums.
Springbok prop Wilco Louw had it all his own way throughout the game until he was oddly taken off in the 64th minute and replaced by Khutha Mchunu.
The Bulls coach attempted to make sense of what transpired afterwards.
“We got penalties from the scrum, kicked to the line-out, and then we’d lose the lineout or lose the breakdown a phase or two later,” Ackermann said.
“We didn’t use our opportunities. That’s the reality.
“In the second half, we got turnovers and some reward, but we didn’t capitalise. Two or three phases later, we’d give the ball away again.
“Then there were crucial moments – a penalty on halfway, a breakdown, an aerial contest – and suddenly we were pushed back and they scored,” Ackerman said.
“It’s one of those things that’s hard to explain. The harder you try, it feels like nothing wants to come your way.
“Every little bounce, every 50-50 decision, it just didn’t go for us.”
The Bulls are now with their backs against the wall, with three wins from seven outings in the URC. They remain in eighth place, but the competition doesn’t get any easier, and things need to change rapidly for them to make a real dent in their campaign.
“I can’t fault the effort. The players kept fighting right to the end. But when you lose, there are things you have to fix. People want results, and that’s what we need to deliver.
“We have to learn quickly. The effort is there – now we need to turn pressure into points.”
“It hurts a lot because it felt like we were getting on top for most of the game, but then it didn’t happen, and it slipped away from us.
“We were getting scrum dominance, but we did not capitalise because a few phases down the line, we would give the ball away.
“We lost key moments in the second half.
“It was one of those situations where the harder we tried, the more things did not go our way.
“We understand that our supporters will feel let down, but sometimes you go through struggles for a reason,” the coach confirmed.
“People who are struggling because they do not have work, and do not have food… They keep on going, so how can we give up? We won’t, and I felt our players fought to the end.”
