Johan Ackermann highlights where the Bulls have to improve against Leinster in URC final as fitness update issued
The Bulls players form a huddle during a game and head coach Johan Ackermann (inset).
Bulls head coach Johan Ackermann believes his team will have to improve their discipline if they want to beat Leinster in the United Rugby Championship (URC) final next week.
Leinster and the Bulls are set to face off at Croke Park in Dublin in a repeat of last year’s URC final which the Irish province won 32-7.
The Bulls will be desperate for victory as they have been regular participants in the URC‘s marquee match, but they are yet to be crowned champions in the tournament after also losing in previous finals to the Stormers (2022) and Glasgow Warriors (2024).
The men from Pretoria reached this year’s final after sealing a sensational 22-21 comeback triumph over Glasgow Warriors at Murrayfield last Saturday.
Costly yellow cards
Despite that positive result, the men from Pretoria had to play with 14 men for 20 minutes of that clash after Springboks duo Handré Pollard (deliberate knock-on) and Ruan Nortjé (collapsing a maul illegally) were yellow carded during the first half.
Those dismissals had an impact on that encounter as the Warriors made full use of their numerical advantage and raced into a 21-3 lead before the Bulls launched a stunning fightback.
Meanwhile, Leinster raced into a 13-0 lead against the Stormers in their semi-final at the Aviva Stadium before the visitors fought back to narrow the gap to two points before losing Leolin Zas, Ruan Ackermann and Salmaan Moerat to yellow cards in the second half and the Irish province eventually advanced to the final courtesy of a 20-11 win.
Ackermann highlighted the importance of improved discipline from his troops against Leinster.
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“If you analyse Leinster, they probably win every game that they start fast and get a good lead. So we can’t afford that ill-discipline, either at the start of the game or at the back-end,” he said.
“It’s unnecessary to put yourselves under that (pressure) because we all know what the laws say regarding tackles, so let’s try stay in that law.
‘We must keep calm and have good discipline’
“And then most of the time, if you go for the intercept and you don’t get it, they will pin you for a slap down. With so much at stake and the high pressure and emotion involved, we must keep calm and have good discipline.”
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Against the Stormers, Rieko Ioane crossed for an early Leinster try and it was a similar story in last year’s final when Jack Conan and Jordie Barrett dotted down inside the opening quarter and Ackermann is determined to avoid a similar situation when his side take on Leo Cullen’s charges next week.
“We need to deal with it better than we did against Glasgow because we also knew Glasgow always start well,” the Bulls coach said.
“But sometimes things don’t go as planned, so we have to be able to deal with all the scenarios.”
Meanwhile, Ackermann revealed that his team will be at full strength for the eagerly anticipated final.
“We got through the game,” Ackermann said of the Glasgow Warriors clash, offering an early sign of cautious optimism.
“There’s one or two guys that are a bit sore, but nothing that the doctor is concerned about. It looks like everybody that played on the weekend will be ready to go by next Friday.”