Vodacom Bulls coach Johan Ackermann has responded to criticism from Bulls president Willem Strauss after the team’s 28-7 defeat to Ulster in Belfast.
Vodacom Bulls coach Johan Ackermann has responded to criticism from Bulls president Willem Strauss after the team’s 28-7 defeat to Ulster in Belfast.
Strauss did not hold back in a broadcast group message, describing it as “arguably our worst performance since joining the URC. Terrible effort. Not interested and disconnected. We’ve now conceded 14 tries in just 3 games. We need urgency and intensity asap.”
Ackermann said he understood the frustration, but emphasised the need for unity as the team looks to bounce back.
Obviously there are going to be a lot of people with comments, and that’s fine,” he said. “But for us, the reality is that families go through tough times. Show me one family that’s perfect, that doesn’t fight or go through difficult moments. It’s the same with a team.
“We’re in a relationship – players, staff, everyone – and we’re in this together. There’s no hiding and no easy way out. All we can do is look at ourselves, fix what needs to be fixed, and take accountability.
We can either sit and sulk or we can stand up. As South Africans, we’ve shown many times that we can stand up when it matters.”
The Bulls, who opened their season with wins against the Ospreys and Leinster at Loftus, face Connacht in Galway on Friday night in the second match of their three-game tour.
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.
