Ackermann stacks Bulls with Boks, wants no soft moments against classy Bordeaux

Bulls coach Johan Ackermann has told his team to toughen up or accept a defeat in Saturday’s Champions Cup clash with reigning champions Bordeaux at in Pretoria.

Ackermann was disappointed in his team’s defensive frailties in going down to the Lions last week at Loftus Versfeld in a United Rugby Championship encounter. The visitors scored six tries in a comfortable win that shocked the Loftus Faithful.

“If we’re soft like last week, we’ll get exposed,” the former Springbok lock said.

“If you analyse Bordeaux, they score all over the field and off every phase. They’re a well-balanced side — they score off set pieces, counter-attack, turnovers, lineouts — everything. They’ve got X-factor players across the park.

“We were obviously disappointed in last week’s performance,” Ackerman continued. “For 80 minutes, we had so many opportunities, but we just didn’t execute. If you don’t take your opportunities, you’re probably not going to be on the winning side.”

Ackermann has packed his squad with returning Springboks, although not all of them are starting. In all, there are 13 Boks in the match-23.

“Yeah, it’s great to have those guys back in the mix and available,” he said. “They haven’t been with us as long as we would’ve liked, but they bring a lot of experience, and it’s good to see them slotting in.”

The Bulls also have a strong leadership boost, with the return of Marcell Coetzee, who will captain the side, and Ruan Nortjé, who will play off the bench.

“Marcell has led this team for years and brings a lot of experience. And having Ruan available on the bench gives us the luxury that, if we want to take off either Reinhardt (Ludwig) or Marcell, we know Ruan will be on the field. That’s the main reason — experience.”

Ackermann explained why some Boks will feature from the bench.

“We looked at the minutes they played, including the travelling, and felt that from a management point of view, we should let the guys who have played together locally start and test themselves against world-class opposition.

“We also wanted the returning Boks to spend time with their families. Johan Grobbelaar and Gerhard Steenekamp were away for eight weeks – three with the Bulls tour, then five weeks in Europe. So it was important to get the balance right between training load and family time.”

Ackermann paid tribute to the class in the Bordeaux side.

“You have to give credit where credit is due — they’re a world-class team. They pulled themselves up from Division 3, worked their way into the Top 14, and deservedly won the Champions Cup last season. They now deliver a lot of players to the French national side. They’ll come with confidence and experience.”

For the Bulls, Handré Pollard will be back in harness at No 10, while the loaded bench, with a 6-2 split, includes Grobbelaar, Steenekamp, Wilco Louw, Nortje and Elrigh Louw.

The team has thus been completely overhauled from last week’s URC selection, with eight new starters.

Despite the solid line-up, several Bulls players remain on the injured list, namely Kurt-Lee Arendse (concussion), Cameron Hanekom (hamstring), Ruan Vermaak (achilles), Nama Xaba (longus tendon strain), Jan Serfontein (torn MCL) and Juan Else (concussion).

Bulls XV

15 Willie le Roux, 14 Canan Moodie, 13 David Kriel, 12 Harold Vorster, 11 Sebastian de Klerk, 10 Handré Pollard, 9 Paul de Wet, 8 Marcell Coetzee (c), 7 Reinhardt Ludwig, 6 Marco van Staden, 5 JF van Heerden, 4 Cobus Wiese, 3 Mornay Smith, 2 Akker van der Merwe, 1 Alulutho Tshakweni.

Replacements: 16 Johan Grobbelaar, 17 Gerhard Steenekamp, 18 Wilco Louw, 19 Ruan Nortje, 20 Elrigh Louw, 21 Jeandré Rudolph, 22 Embrose Papier, 23 Stravino Jacobs.