Bulls must sharpen up for Munster clash, warns Ackermann

The Bulls must cut out soft moments and ensure their execution is spot on when they face Munster in a high-stakes United Rugby Championship (URC) quarterfinal clash at Loftus Versfeld on May 30, coach Johan Ackermann says.

Failure to deliver these key qualities could have fatal consequences for an in-form Bulls side who thrashed Italian outfit Benetton 45-19 in their final league fixture ahead of the playoffs.

Though Ackermann is grateful his team secured a bonus point win to earn a home semifinal, he said hard work lies ahead on the training ground ahead of what promises to be an explosive clash.

The Bulls’ try scorers against Benetton were Sergeal Petersen (2), Willie le Roux, Johan Grobbelaar, Cobus Wiese, Mpilo Gumede and Ruan Nortje.

“It’s our general skill, finishing and decision-making that we have to focus on,” Ackermann said. “You don’t want to give away 14 points through soft moments [as was the case against Benetton] and poor decision-making.

“That’s the part we have to fix because if there’s more pressure on the game, like in a knockout match, it becomes very difficult to recover momentum.

Bulls coach Johan Ackermann (Nokwanda Zondi/BackpagePix)

“We want the players to have a go and we’ll never fault a player for trying, but you must make sure you execute. It’s all about execution.

“There were moments where we had four against two, or three against one, and then we kicked instead of passing. Then there were other situations where maybe we should have kicked. Those decisions and the execution around them are the areas we need to improve.

“You don’t want to get carried away because it’s only a quarterfinal but we could have easily missed out on it.

“It’s always nice to play at home. We know we can get at least this one game at home. Hopefully we can use it to our advantage.

“The whole coaching staff and I were a bit nervous about the Benetton game because they are a quality team and have proved that over the years.”

Ackermann said Munster, whom the Bulls pipped 34-31 in a league outing at Loftus earlier in the season, were a quality team loaded with international players.

“Munster are a top team, and they have got a lot of good internationals. It was a tough game against them at Loftus earlier in the season, and the Bulls have to be better than we were against Benetton.”

Munster clinched their berth in the playoffs with a 24-17 victory over the Lions at Thomond Park on Saturday. While the Lions had already nailed down their quarterfinal berth ahead of the clash, Munster needed a win to make the last eight.