Five months ago, the doomsayers and couch potato “experts” declared with absolute certainty that the Bulls’ URC campaign was doomed to failure under the leadership of their new coach, Johan Ackermann.

It was said that Ackerman did not know what he was doing and that he was implementing the wrong playing style at the Bulls. Moreover, after the sordid saga surrounding Jake White’s departure from Loftus Versfeld, wild gossip was spread about senior players in the Bulls’ ranks. Yet Ackermann publicly declared that he stood by his players, while he held the reins, sorted out his assistant coaching staff and continued to implement his own playing style and game plan.

No one would blame Ackermann for probably feeling vindicated on Saturday afternoon at Loftus Versfeld, after his team thoroughly destroyed Irish super club, Munster, to qualify for the URC semi-finals.

The Bulls scored six excellent tries and at times really bullied Munster – who themselves could only reach the goal line twice – on their way to victory.

This result means the Bulls will travel to Scotland to face log leaders Glasgow Warriors at Murrayfield in Edinburgh this coming Saturday at 15:30.

The fact that the match is being played at Murrayfield is also good news for the Bulls. It is no secret that the men from Pretoria – like other South African teams – are not very fond of the synthetic pitches that are currently been used by various clubs in Europe. This synthetic surface requires a huge adjustment for South African teams. Especially the advantage at scrum time, which serve as a weapon of most South African teams, is negatively affected by the synthetic pitches. There are also other factors that make South Africans not like the synthetic pitches.

Murrayfield’s pitch surface, however, still consists of the traditional grass covering, which can certainly have an impact on the match and the Bulls’ performance.

The Glasgow Warriors’ home ground in Glasgow is currently being prepared for the upcoming Commonwealth Games, necessitating the move to Murrayfield in Edinburgh.

Although the Bulls have lost twice to the Glasgow Warriors this season (12-21 in October last year in the URC and 21-25 in the Round of 16 of the European Champions Cup early in April this year), Franco Smith’s Scottish club will face a very different Bulls team on Saturday. As a team, the level of play of Ackerman’s troops is on an upward curve, while many of their star players are also currently in top form.

While it will still take a huge effort to beat Smith’s men, it is not a far-fetched dream. Anyone who wants to bet money against Johan Ackermann – the man every armchair “expert” was mouthing off about five months ago – and his team on their chance of overcoming Kyle Steyn and his mates at Murrayfield and thus qualifying for their fourth URC final in five years, does so at their own risk.

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