Johan Ackermann warned missed-tackle offenders could be dropped, but the team remains resolute after their seventh straight defeat.
Bulls head coach Johan Ackermann once again lamented the mistakes made in his side’s third-round Champions Cup defeat to Bristol Bears, but said he and his team are keeping faith things will get better.
The Bulls lost 61-49 at Loftus – the Pretoria union’s seventh defeat in a row in a season where they are steadily growing under pressure.
Their seven tries in a losing cause provided a bonus point that gives them a glimmer of hope of reaching the play-offs, should they beat Pau in their fourth and final pool game in France next Friday.
If they lose again, they will either drop into the second-tier Challenge Cup round of 16, or out of European competition altogether, depending on permutations.
The loss followed input from Springbok assistant coach Felix Jones during Bulls training earlier in the week.
‘More expectation on your senior players’
Ackermann named 10 Springboks in his starting XV and once again had to speak of the many mistakes that were committed by some of his most senior players.
“No player goes out to make a mistake and obviously there is a bit more expectation on your senior players,” the Bulls coach said.
“But is it because they are playing harder and almost want to do stuff by themselves? I’m not sure but the reality is we are playing a lot of rugby against ourselves by the kind of mistakes we make.”
He said giving away possession in their own half, due to two penalties and a kick-off that didn’t travel 10m, allowed Bristol to race to three tries in the first nine minutes.
“Then you play a bit out of character because you start forcing offloads and things. At one stage, we got it right and then we gave away an intercept try because we forced things.
The 30 missed tackles and 17 turnovers conceded were “just too high” an error rate for an accomplished team live Bristol not to capitalise on.
They would continue to work on these errors in training, and players who consistently missed tackles would have to be dropped.
Bulls keeping the faith
Still, with the Bulls having three wins out of eight United Rugby Championship matches, and without a win in three Champions Cup games, Ackermann said the team’s character was being tested.
He said he could not fault any players’ commitment or attitude in training. Where they go from now was determined by him as their leader.
“The reality is it starts with me. I must believe, and I believe.”
He said his faith as a Christian taught him that God causes all things to work out for the good of His people.
“People will probably jump up and down [at that]. But the reality is I don’t know where the season is going to finish, but I trust, and my faith is in God that He is in control of my life.
“I could write a book about adversity, about so many things that I had to overcome. I’ve been in teams that had to overcome. I’ve lost 64-0 against the Brumbies [with the Cats in 2000], and we went and played in the semi-final.
“I’m not saying it’s going to happen this year, but I’ve been in teams that take a hammering and then they turn it around.”
