‘We didn’t help ourselves’: Ackermann laments Bulls’ Munster mistakes

Bulls head coach Johan Ackermann and his side were left with plenty of what-ifs after a narrow defeat to Munster at Thomond Park on Saturday evening in the United Rugby Championship (URC).

The visitors went down 26-22 in a hard-fought battle and came within a couple of missed opportunities of claiming another crucial away victory in the new season.

However, lapses in defence, an inability to maintain a strong territorial game and some costly penalties and errors ultimately proved the difference, while Ackermann also lamented a couple of officiating calls that went against his side.

Despite the loss, the Bulls showed plenty of character on defence and, with a bit more accuracy in key moments, could have sealed another impressive win on the road following their opening victory last weekend.

“I felt proud of the effort, proud of how the guys fought, and even gave us a chance right at the end. If we could have scored a try, we could have got away with the win,” Ackermann said.

“But obviously I’m disappointed because it’s a game that you feel you could have easily got the result if one or two things were just better — our execution, one or two handling errors, maybe decision-making in the kicking and passing game.

“There were times when we should have passed but kicked, or vice versa, when we passed and forced the pass but should have kicked. Then, obviously, the handling errors and knock-ons meant we lacked a bit of possession as well as territory.”

The Bulls were particularly effective when they managed to put pressure on Munster, but too often they found themselves playing from the wrong areas of the field. Their defensive work-rate was excellent, they created some good attacking opportunities with the ball in hand, and the scrums were satisfactory.

Jeandre Rudolph makes a charge for the try line to keep the Bulls in the fight 🐂🔵

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However, their inability to play in their hosts’ half for extended periods, alongside coughing up possession, especially in the first half, prevented them from really building momentum in the battle. Still, heading into half-time with the score 14-all would have given the visitors a lot of confidence.

“I haven’t got the stats yet, but it felt like we played a lot of the game in the wrong areas because of our own errors or maybe some penalties. But I’m proud, especially of the first part of the game. We really defended well.

“There were still parts in the second half where they could have easily run away with it, even though they probably didn’t feel like they were in control. They could have scored if we hadn’t defended so well.

“I also want to give credit to Munster for their victory, but we didn’t help ourselves. Three of the soft tries they scored came off our errors.”