To say new Vodacom Bulls coach Johan Ackermann has a challenge on his hands this week may be an understatement.
Not only does he have to integrate a bunch of Springboks returning from a five week tour abroad into a side ahead of a massive Investec Champions’ Cup opening round challenge against defending champions Bordeaux-Begles, but his side also were shocked by the Lions in their Vodacom United Rugby Championship fixture this past weekend.
The reality of the current Champions’ Cup draw is simple. You need to win your home games to have a chance of qualifying for the round of 16. And last season the Bulls found out the hard way when they were shocked by the eventual finalists Northampton Saints at Loftus Versfeld.
Northampton sit and wait for the Bulls next weekend and opening fixtures against the two finalists is hardly the start the team would have wanted
And to lose a vital derby before the start of the Champions Cup doesn’t help them either.
BOKS RETURNING
The Springboks who will return this week include the monster front row of Gerhard Steenekamp, Johan Grobbelaar and Wilco Louw, captain Ruan Nortje, flanker Marco van Staden and Canan Moodie while Handre Pollard is already in Pretoria and Kurt-Lee Arendse should be over his concussion.
Between them there is a wealth of experience that will be necessary for the Bulls to take on the defending champs, and with Elrigh Louw coming through his first game back there may well even be a cameo off the bench for Cameron Hanekom if the medical personnel feel he has made sufficient progress to return.
Either way, on paper at least, the Bulls squad is a formidable one that can be chosen this week, but there are more factors to consider than that alone.
Getting the best out of players who have been away from home for five weeks is a challenge and it may be sufficient reason for the Bulls to send a different squad to Northampton next weekend rather than get their Boks to cross hemispheres again.
TOUGH CHOICES
Ackermann touched on this after the loss to the Lions saying that all the Boks are available, but he just needs to figure out who he should select next week.
“I can use everybody (referring to the Bok contingent). The question just remains: do you use them after they’ve been away from home for eight weeks - like Grobbies (Johan Grobbelaar) - he was on a three week Bulls tour and now five weeks with the Springboks.
“A lot of them haven’t seen their families for a long time and then you expect to have them perform on Saturday.”
While Ackermann does have a point, if the Springboks aren’t going to be playing in the toughest club competition in world rugby in front of their home fans, then it is hard to see a situation where they could be more needed.
Balancing the fatigue with the needs of the club is a big ask and the Bulls need to get it right this weekend.
Add to the extra pressure of dropping points to the Lions and seeing their neighbours leapfrog them on the log, Ackermann admitted training would be a lot harder for the players this week ahead of the Bordeaux showdown.
SHOCK LOSS TO LIONS
“We just have to fix it,” Ackermann said, referring to the loss to the Lions. “Individuals must work on their skills, and as a team we must put more emphasis on our carry and breakdown. If you lose, training is normally a bit harder – because you have to fix those things.”
The Bulls were poor in their game against the Lions as they looked disjointed and were outfoxed by a Lions side that were more hungry and more clinical.
“We have to take accountability.There were moments where we did things well, but it was just too easy for them to get turnovers at crucial stages.
“We were probably our own worst enemy by trying to shift the ball to someone in a worse position instead of just carrying and recycling. We lost the ball in contact or forced a pass, and that’s how they scored their tries.”
“The breakdown is definitely something we have to look at, but more than that, we must look at our decision-making with the ball,” he added. “We didn’t finish our opportunities. In the first minute we were held up, they exited, and when they got one loose ball, they scored. That was the difference.”
“Sometimes we ran when we should’ve kicked, and sometimes we kicked when we should’ve run. When we did see the space, we didn’t finish. Our passing accuracy stopped momentum, and that’s why we looked disjointed at times.”
The Bulls will name their side on Thursday for the Bordeaux clash.