Bulls coach Johan Ackermann said he was grateful for his side’s bonus-point win over Benetton, which secured a home United Rugby Championship quarter-final, but added they would have to improve in a few areas before facing Munster in that play-off on 30 May.
The Bulls beat Benetton seven tries to three (score 45-19) on Saturday, thanks to a strong start and good finish after losing their way in the middle period, leading by just seven points at one time.
It was the Bulls’ sixth consecutive URC win, consolidating their fourth spot on the table, and setting up a mouthwatering clash against Munster after the Irish side edged the Lions at home to end fifth.
Errors and injuries
The Bulls finished the league phase with a total of 12 victories from 18 matches.
It’s a significant turnaround after they struggled in the early season, losing seven games in a row across all competitions, and having to implement a coaching shake-up.
“You don’t want to get carried away because it’s only a quarter-final but we could have easily missed out on it,” Ackermann said.
“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.”
But the performance against Benetton was far from perfect.
Two disallowed tries for knock-ons, and another for a forward pass, were among several errors begrudged by Ackermann.
Others were poor decision-making in attack (a Bulls chip-kick led to a Benetton try), inconsistency in the mauls, half-hearted aerial battles, and several knock-ons marred the performance.
As did injuries suffered by Ruan Nortjé (ankle), Canan Moodie (shoulder), Devon Williams and Cameron Hanekom.
These players would go for scans on Monday, though the coach was hopeful they would all recover by the play-off.
Bulls were ‘nervous’ for Benetton
“The whole coaching staff and I were a bit nervous about the game because they are a quality team and have proven over the years,” Ackermann said.
He explained the Italian side’s X-factor players and the expectation on the Bulls to beat the 13th-ranked team, who would “throw the kitchen sink in”, made it a mental challenge.
Ackermann said it wasn’t pretty, but he was grateful for the win. Looking back on where they were in the season, and what the outcome meant for the table, he would have taken the result if offered it beforehand.
The Bulls coach said Munster would have to travel, making it a challenge for them. “But they are a quality side. They’ve got a lot of good internationals.”
He referred to their 34-31 victory over Munster at Loftus in March, where the Bulls led for portions but Munster fought back from two scores down three times to almost snatch a significant win.
“It was a tough game against them at Loftus… We have to be better than we were today.”
