Bulls boss reveals what he expects from Dave Rennie’s All Blacks who he ‘knows well’
The Bulls players form a huddle during a game and head coach Johan Ackermann (inset).
Bulls head coach Johan Ackermann has revealed what he expects from the All Blacks when the sides face off in their clash at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria on Saturday.
New Zealand arrived in South Africa at the end of last month and have made a fine start to their tour by securing back-to-back victories against the Stormers and Sharks.
This will be only the fifth time that the Bulls and New Zealand face each other after their previous matches in 1949, 1960, 1970 and 1976.
Bulls victorious in last match against All Blacks
The All Blacks were victorious in those first three encounters before the Bulls’ forerunner, Northern Transvaal, secured a hard-fought 29-27 victory in the last match between these sides in 1976.
Ackermann is no stranger to All Blacks head coach Dave Rennie and is expecting the men in black to employ a fast-paced style of play and to give the ball plenty of air for the full 80 minutes.
“We know the All Blacks well. I know Dave Rennie well,” he told reporters in Pretoria. “All his teams play at a high tempo.
“They like to have very fast scrums and lineouts. They keep the ball alive.
“We also like to play at that tempo. It’s something we’re striving for as a team.”
However, Ackermann said any team who wants to play that way needs a good pre-season to train and the men from Pretoria have not had that.
The Bulls are returning to action after a three-week break instead of the usual five to train for their clash with the All Blacks.
“We are in our fourth week since we came back. It’s [soon] to go into a game… That’s why you could see it [lack of cohesion] in the Stormers and Sharks.
‘We have to do it’
“But it’s still a great privilege to be part of the game, so we have to do it. I’m surprised the Sharks only had four weeks to train because they didn’t play in the URC play-offs.
“Maybe they gave their players five weeks off.”
Want more from Planet Rugby? Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list for world-class coverage you can trust.
Meanwhile, the All Blacks are match-fit but despite that, Ackermann is relishing the challenge which lies ahead for the Bulls.
“We understand the task ahead of us, and the privilege of facing the All Blacks. They were last here 30 years ago,” he said.
“No one knows the future, who will play for the Boks. For some this will be their only chance… And to see the haka. It will be great for them.”