'We need clarity': Ackermann questions officiating in Bulls' iffy win over Ulster
REACTION: The Bulls will seek clarity from match officials following their unconvincing 34-26 win over Ulster in Round Four of the Vodacom United Rugby Championship on Saturday, coach Johan Ackermann has confirmed.
Ackermann was unhappy with his side’s second-half performance after they nearly let the game slip away, having led 21-7 at the break.
He cited a lack of discipline, inaccuracy and poor execution as key factors behind the nervy finish.
The Bulls mentor also questioned Scottish referee Ru Campbell over what he described as “grey areas”, believing several crucial calls went against his side during the course of the match.
One area of particular frustration was the scrum. Despite the Bulls’ dominance in that department, they were hardly awarded until towards the end of the match.
Ackermann voiced his frustrations after the game, calling for clarity.
“There’s a lot of clarity we need from the referee’s side,” the Bulls coach told reporters.
“There were big moments that I felt we either missed a scoring opportunity or had an influence on possession or territory.
“We have to get clarity out. I don’t know how many URC games this guy had; maybe it was just the occasion.
“There were definitely moments that were a bit grey for me.”
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Another incident that frustrated Ackermann involved a penalty against Elrigh Louw at the breakdown, which prevented Bulls’ speedster, Cheswill Jooste, from a potential breakaway try.
“There were two or three times at the breakdown, scrums and then early in the game when Elrigh [Louw] got penalised for cleaning a guy that tackled Cheswill [Jooste].
“Cheswill bounced up and went again. Technically, that was perfect; Cheswill released the ball, got up and went again, but Elrigh got penalised.”
Ackermann was further pressed to share his thoughts on how the maul was officiated.
He laughed before admitting that he was choosing his words carefully and did not want to be diplomatic.
“It’s easy to talk about it now, but if the result went the other way, if we lost by a point or two, we probably would have then wanted to make an issue of it.
“Johnny [John-William Meyer], our technical analyst, has already marked all the questions we’ve got, things we felt were clear and obvious for us, but it didn’t seem to be clear and obvious; all we ask is consistency.”
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Turning his attention away from the officiating, Ackermann admitted the Bulls needed to be better, particularly after building a 21-point lead.
“It’s a bit of mixed emotions at the moment.
“If you play a quality side like Ulster and you tell me beforehand, you’re going to get five points and a win, you would take it regardless of how it came.
“But then again, at 21-0, we probably have to be much better. Execution was not good; we either released the pressure on them or we put the pressure on ourselves by them getting the entry into our 22.
“That was the disappointing part. We made it quite easy for them. I felt by half-time, we had them on the ropes, and then in the second half, our discipline was just not good enough.”
There was also a swing in momentum in the second half, where Ulster outscored the hosts by three tries to one.
Ackermann acknowledged that his side needs to address how they start their second stanzas.
“We must look at that. The tough thing is that we know that, and that’s where we have to get better.
“These three weeks with the heat, there were compulsory water breaks. We can look at that and make sure we handle it a bit better and switch on at the start of that second half.”
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