Ackers stands by senior Bulls players after poor URC final showing
· Citizen
Bulls head coach Johan Ackermann said he would not throw players under the bus after a slew of errors by his most senior stars contributed to the team’s 36-7 United Rugby Championship final defeat to Leinster on Friday.
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It was the Bulls’ fourth URC final defeat in five years, and their heaviest yet.
That came despite an eight-match winning streak in the competition, the return of five Springboks who were unavailable for last year’s final, and the confidence gained from fighting back from 21-3 down to beat Glasgow Warriors in the semi-final in Edinburgh.
‘Each player must give an account’
Ackermann said the Bulls never gave themselves a chance.
Their most experienced players made some of the biggest errors. Springboks Canan Moodie and Willie le Roux received yellow cards for deliberate knock-ons, while Handré Pollard dropped a pass that led to Leinster’s opening try and then kicked a penalty into touch in-goal during the Bulls’ final attack of the first half.
The Bulls also lost three lineouts and threw one skew in the opening half.
Still, Ackermann credited Leinster, particularly for their dominance in the aerial battle.
“Each player must give an account for his performance. That is part of our values, that personal responsibility in delivering excellence,” he said.
“Obviously, no player goes out to make a mistake… Over the year, we had the benefit of stuff going our way and yesterday they didn’t go our way. Credit to Leinster. They were very good [in the air].”
Bulls coach says he will take responsibility for defeat
Ackermann said what hurt most was how similar the defeat was to last year’s 32-7 loss to Leinster at the same venue.
“The Bulls had a plan in the last three finals, and unfortunately, we didn’t get over the line. And we had a plan yesterday, and we didn’t get over the line.
“So something, somewhere, we have to get it right. Trust me, every coach and I will dwell on this for quite a fair bit to see where we can do better.”
However, he said there was no point dwelling on individual mistakes.
“You can’t change the past, you can’t dwell too much on that. You have to keep preparing for what you can control.
“If I’m gonna keep on reminding you of all the mistakes you’ve made, you’re not going to feel right about yourself.
“We knew exactly what was coming, and we must take that responsibility as a group.
“I’m not going to blame players, that’s not who I am, because I’m part of this group. I’m the one who must take that responsibility.”