Bulls coach Johan Ackermann says poor execution and decision-making cost his team in Limerick on Saturday night.
The Bulls suffered their first defeat of the URC season, going down 26-22 to Munster at Thomond Park after opening their campaign with a 47-13 win against Zebre in Parma.
While the visitors scored three tries and were within striking distance at the final whistle, Ackermann was frustrated by the mistakes that repeatedly handed Munster possession and territory.
“I felt proud of the effort, proud of how the guys fought and even gave ourselves a chance right at the end, if we could score a try, to get away with the win,” he said.
“But obviously I’m disappointed in the fact that it’s a game where you feel you could’ve easily got the result if one or two things were just better – our execution, one or two handling errors, maybe decision-making in the kicking and passing game.
“There were times that we should’ve passed when we kicked, or vice versa, when we forced the pass but should’ve kicked.
“Then obviously the handling errors or the knock-ons meant that we lacked a bit of possession as well as territory.
“It just felt that we played a lot of the game in the wrong areas because of our own errors or maybe some penalties.”
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Munster dominated territory and possession for long periods, but the Bulls stayed in the contest through tries from lock Ruan Vermaak and prop Francois Klopper in the first half before No 8 Jeandré Rudolph’s late score reduced the deficit to four points.
“I want to give credit also to Munster for their victory, but saying that, we didn’t help ourselves,” Ackermann said. “Three of the soft tries they scored were off our errors.
“There was good variation in our attack, but still our execution wasn’t good.
“There were times that I felt we could’ve probably been a bit more direct instead of just trying to play. But when we got it right, we looked good.
“Unfortunately, there were times that we just lacked those final touches.”
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Despite the defeat, Ackermann was encouraged by the Bulls’ resilience as they return to Pretoria to prepare for their clash with the Lions at Loftus Versfeld.
“At the end of the day, this is sport. It’s small margins, and none of the players went out to make mistakes.
“I’m happy to deal with whatever we go through this season if players show a lot of character and fight.
“It’s early days. It’s a marathon, this. It’s definitely not a sprint race.”
Photo: Vodacom Bulls
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Bulls coach Johan Ackermann says poor execution and decision-making cost his team in Limerick on Saturday night.
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