RUGBY NEWS - The Bulls have highlighted poor discipline and a need to find balance between running and kicking, before a tough away match to Edinburgh in the United Rugby Championship this weekend.
The Pretoria union come from a tight 26-24 win over Section Paloise (Pau) in their last Champions Cup pool match on the weekend.
The result ended their seven-game losing streak, and though it was their sole win in the pool stage, other results ensured they finished fourth and qualified for a last-16 play-off against Glasgow Warriors in April.
While coach Johan Ackermann warned one win would not turn their whole season around, he said he was grateful his team had shown character to overturn a 21-12 half-time deficit, even though they only finished the game with 34% possession and 38% territory, and Reinhardt Ludwig received a yellow card for repeated infringements.
Bulls seek 80-minute performance
However, he rued how poor discipline kept them on the back foot. This will not fly against Edinburgh in Scotland, even though the Scottish team are in poor form with two wins from six games, coming from a 63-10 thumping by Bath in the Champions Cup.
“We are still striving for that 80-minute performance,” said the Bulls coach. “Cutting down unforced errors, things like our discipline. We gave away some soft penalties that pinned us down. We had to defend a lot of mauls and 22m entries.”
Ackermann said his team defended well to the last minute, winning a turnover at the death. But they needed to manage the game better for longer.
“No game will be perfect. There will be mistakes and you will be without the ball for certain periods, but I think we can be more clinical with the ball.
“If we want to get more wins and progress in any competition, we have to get the balance right between our kicking and running games.”
He said he could see how the Bulls might have looked like they reverted to their traditional set-piece focused conservative game style. But losing the possession and territory battles, and a rainy second-half, meant they had to kick more than they have been doing recently.
Ackermann pointed to their intercept-try as an example of the more dynamic style they have been aiming for.
Ackermann recently dismissed assistant coaches Andries Bekker and Chris Rossouw, and hired new backline coach Neil de Bruin. Springbok assistant coaches have also been to Bulls training sessions to provide technical input.
Article: Caxton publication, The Citizen
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