BULLS coach Johan Ackermann.
Image: Backpagepix
Bulls coach Johan Ackermann felt his side did not receive the rub of the green in their Champions Cup defeat to the Warriors after “heart and character” were not enough to get over the line in atrocious conditions in Glasgow.
Strong winds and heavy rain provided the backdrop to the latest chapter in the bitter rivalry between the teams, which includes a 2024 United Rugby Championship final won by the Warriors in Pretoria.
In this seventh encounter between the Bulls and Warriors, the home team won 25-21 to extend their unbeaten run of games at Scotstoun to 12.
“First of all, I’m extremely proud of the players and the effort they put in. There was a lot of heart. The guys showed strong character,” he said before explaining that illness had struck the squad.
“It was a challenging week, not as an excuse, but we had a lot of players sick early in the week, and even yesterday and today, there were moments that we didn’t know if Harold (Vorster) or Handré (Pollard) were going to play.
“But the guys showed fight, I’m very proud. In tough conditions, we were close to getting the victory.”
The Bulls outplayed the Warriors in the first half and should have earned more points for their efforts. They were undone by their old malady of failing to deal with restarts.
“We didn’t use all our opportunities in their 22,” Ackermann admitted. “And, unfortunately, a few of the kick-offs come to mind where we didn’t exit well and made mistakes.
“We also gave them soft entries through our discipline — we went offside a few times, and that gave them territory and possession. Credit to them, they capitalised and scored.
“When our discipline is better, we’re in the game a lot more. So that is a big thing for u to fix.”
Ackermann pointed out that the weather was a bigger factor than viewers may have realised.
“Even the last kick-off, we wanted the ball to roll dead, but it didn’t. On an artificial pitch, it often does. It just didn’t go our way.”
“I don’t think people understand how tough the conditions were, especially in the second half,” he added. “We were playing into a very strong wind. At one stage, they kicked the ball, and it rolled almost 70m.
“The players had to dig deep to stay in the fight. It’s easy to criticise from afar, but those were tough conditions.
“The defeat hurts, but that competition is done. Now we turn our attention to the URC.”
The Bulls are next in action in a URC fixture against the Dragons in Newport on April 17.