Vodacom Bulls coach Johan Ackermann lamented the mistakes that prevented his side from mounting a serious challenge in Friday night’s URC final at Croke Park. LINDIZ VAN ZILLA reports.
The Bulls’ wait for a maiden URC title continues after they were beaten 36-7 by defending champions Leinster.
The visitors were under pressure from the outset and trailed 22-0 at half-time after a succession of errors handed momentum to the hosts.
“We didn’t really give ourselves a chance,” Ackermann said. “We were out of it quite early on the scoreboard.
“The players showed a lot of fight and it wasn’t a lack of effort. We defended hard when Leinster attacked our line, but in those soft moments we were punished.”
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Ackermann highlighted a costly sequence that led to Leinster’s opening try.
“After they knocked on, we tried to play out of our own half, lost the ball and they went and scored. Then we got the yellow cards [to Canan Moodie and Willie le Roux] in between that and lost a few lineouts. We never really built a platform that gave us a chance.”
Reflecting on a lineout that struggled to function, Ackermann conceded the Bulls “probably could have looked at a few different lineout options”.
He added: “They contested well and perhaps we could have added a bit more variation to our seven-man lineouts.
“But you have to credit Leinster because every mistake we made, they punished us.
“They were very clinical and were just a champion team today. They are a champion team with world-class coaches and world-class players.”
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Despite the disappointment, Ackermann said he remained proud of his team’s campaign.
“There are a lot of sore hearts in the change room at the moment and we wanted to be more competitive today, but when I reflect on the season, I’m very proud of what we achieved.”
Photo: Ramsey Cardy/Gallo Images
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Vodacom Bulls coach Johan Ackermann lamented the mistakes that prevented his side from mounting a serious challenge in Friday night’s URC final at Croke Park.
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