The Vodacom Bulls will man up to the All Blacks in Pretoria on Saturday, but would’ve preferred being in pre-season training, according to head coach Johan Ackermann.
Ackermann’s men are bracing for a New Zealand outfit that followed up their Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry opening win over the Stormers last week with a 54-0 demolition job of the Sharks in Durban on Tuesday night.
The Bulls’ last competitive match was the Vodacom URC final on 19 June, losing 36-7 at Croke Park, and they will kick off their 2026-27 campaign against Zebre Parma on 25 September.
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Ackermann reckons this week’s fixture at Loftus Versfeld has disrupted their pre-season plans, forcing the squad to cut their break short and fast-track conditioning.
“We would probably only just have returned from the break,” Ackermann told the media on Tuesday. “We had to cut the break short. We have to give the guys a five-week break, but we could only give them three weeks.
“Conditioning is one thing, but your body, after three or four weeks, loses its contact ability. So we had to fast-track all of that.
“If this game wasn’t there, we would probably have been in a conditioning phase only. So it has put a bit of pressure on us.”
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Ackermann highlighted the challenge of losing the opportunity for a conventional pre-season, where teams typically trial new strategies and assess player form.
“Normally you play a warm-up match or two, you trial stuff, see if it works and see what players are in form,” he said.
“Now we’re basically picking from the squad we’ve got left, and then the odd guys who were unlucky not to be selected have been given off training. It’s a bit unfair, but that’s the hand we’ve got.”
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Despite the disruption, the former Springbok lock is focused on extracting value from the Highveld spectacle.
“It’s a great occasion, but we will definitely be a bit underprepared from where we want to be. We’re building up to the URC and that’s still a few weeks away, so we don’t want to peak now,” he said.
“It’s not to use it as an excuse, but the fact that we went to the final meant we had less time to prepare than the other franchises.
“We just want to embrace the occasion and hopefully get a reward for what we’ve tried to practise over the last few weeks.”
Photo: Sydney Seshibedi/Gallo Images
The post Bulls ‘underprepared’ for Loftus occasion appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.
The Vodacom Bulls will man up to the All Blacks in Pretoria on Saturday, but would’ve preferred being in pre-season training, according to head coach Johan Ackermann.
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