Hold your horses, doomsayers and clever “experts” with your dramatic analyses – Johan Ackerman’s Bulls’ season is far from over.

Ackermann certainly can’t be blamed if he would have laughed with a little complacency in the corridors of Stade du Hameau there in the southwest of France late Friday night on his way to his team’s locker room.

He would have every right to do so, because not only did his team achieve a bonus point victory in difficult circumstances away from home against the French club that currently sits second on the log in that country’s Top 14 tournament, but after this triumph they were “boots & all” back in the European Rugby Champions Cup.

Not only did the Bulls, with determined defence, prevented their highly rated French opponents from scoring more than three tries for an extra bonus point, but their positive attitude on the attack also enabled them to score four tries themselves in difficult circumstances, thus earning that extra bonus point that puts them above Pau on the log in their European Rugby Champions Cup group.

This result means that the Bulls are now fourth in the group standings of Pool 4.

If Northampton Saints, as expected, beat Welsh club Scarlets at home on Sunday afternoon, the Bulls will qualify for the play-off phase of the top 16 teams in the league. In fact, even if Scarlets win their match against Northampton against expectations, they will also have to score four tries to earn a bonus point if they want to finish in fourth place in Pool 4.

– The Bulls’ performance was not flawless, but it was significant in more ways than one. At the start of the last quarter of the match, the visitors from Pretoria were still twelve points behind their French hosts and many doomsayers would by then have predicted another defeat. But the extent to which the team, by then led by the usual captain, Ruan Nortjé – who played from the bench – showed character and courage to bite the bullet and fight back, told a story of its own.

Ackermann testified on Thursday during the announcement of his team to take on Pau that the team’s current two-week tour of France and Scotland probably came at the right time for them.

He said that the tour setup away from the pressure that the team experiences in Pretoria offers him as coach the opportunity to communicate better and more meaningfully with his players on a personal level, while the players can also strengthen their bond with each other and thus build cohesion.

The positive attitude, perseverance and focus that the players displayed in those last 20 minutes speaks volumes for the way in which Ackermann’s authority and leadership in their pressured situation of recent weeks is beginning to bear fruit.

The Round of 16 matches in the European Rugby Champions Cup are scheduled for the weekend of 3-5 April.

This means the Bulls will now focus fully on their United Rugby Championship (URC) campaign. The team will play Edinburgh in the Scottish capital this coming Friday (23 January), after which they will return to South Africa to take on the Lions in Johannesburg on Saturday 31 January.

https://twitter.com/ChampionsCup/status/2012300511886619035

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