Vodacom Bulls coach Johan Ackermann says “everyone must just be patient” with Handré Pollard. SIMON BORCHARDT reports.
The Springbok flyhalf’s first appearance for the Bulls in more than five years ended in a 28-7 defeat to Ulster in Belfast on Saturday night.
Pollard was one of four Rugby Championship-winning Boks – along with Wilco Louw, Marco van Staden and Canan Moodie – drafted into the starting XV for the Bulls’ first match on their three-game tour.
It was also the double World Cup winner’s only match on tour, with the playmaker returning to Pretoria to be with his wife, Marise, who is due to give birth to their second child later this month.
“Handré is humble. He fits in easily with the group and doesn’t have a chip on his shoulder,” Ackermann told the media on Sunday. “There were good things in his performance and things that will get better as he understands how we want to play.
It’s one performance, so everyone must just be patient. When he comes back and gets more game time around this group, we’ll see what he can really do. His leadership, calmness and skill set will add a lot of value.”
With the Bulls’ next home URC match against the Lions at Loftus on 29 November – the same day the Springboks face Wales in Cardiff – the Loftus faithful may have to wait until the team’s European Champions Cup opener against Bordeaux Bègles to see Pollard in action again.
Ackermann identified a lack of finishing and defensive lapses as key factors in Saturday night’s defeat, which ended the Bulls’ unbeaten start to the season.
“We didn’t convert our 22-metre entries. We had 11 and only converted one. We also made a lot of turnovers and handling errors,” he said.
“They scored four tries – one from a kick through, one from a pick and go, one from a maul and one from a cross kick. They really only had to work hard for one of those. The rest were too soft.
“That first 10 minutes, actually the whole first half, we had a lot of opportunities. We were over with one maul, but there was a small knock-on before we scored. We had several chances to put points on the board and didn’t take them.
“Defensively, the numbers speak for themselves. We’re not getting enough dominant tackles. Too often one player has to cover for another, and then the next guy shifts over, and eventually you get exposed elsewhere.
“There are factors we can point to – preparation time, numbers, injuries – but ultimately we’ve been undercooked in terms of contact, and now we’re trying to play catch-up. This competition won’t wait for you.”
The Bulls will be aiming to bounce back in Galway on Friday night against a Connacht team coming off a 14-8 defeat to Cardiff.
“Connacht is a tough place to go,” Ackermann said. “They’ve got big ball-carriers, similar to Ulster, and they’ll have their three British & Irish Lions players [Finlay Bealham, Bundee Aki and Mack Hansen] back this week. They’ll be hurting after their loss, just like we are.
“The only thing we can control is how we prepare and making sure we’re ready for a big fight on Friday.”
