The Bulls are winless in their last seven games and next face French side Pau in the Champions Cup.
Coach Johan Ackermann said he was hopeful the Bulls would end a seven-game losing run in all competitions when they take on Pau in a final pool game in the Champions Cup in France on Friday night (10pm).
The Pretoria-based team are rooted to the bottom of their pool in the competition with just this one game to go in round robin play and only a win and another result going their way will see them into the knockout rounds. A defeat could see the Bulls drop to the second-tier Challenge Cup last-16, or out of all the competitions altogether, depending on results.
‘Transfer training to the game’
Ackermann and his charges are feeling the heat following the string of defeats, but the coach, who took over from Jake White at the start of the season, remained hopeful things would soon turn around.
“I can’t fault the players for a lack of energy and willingness to work hard,” said Ackermann on Thursday after naming his team to take on Pau.
“We want to put in that performance [that will turn things around], and I believe we’re not far off. Sometimes things just need to go your way.
“Hopefully that moment [when things work out on the field] is around the corner. The difficult part is that it’s not due to a lack of work; we now just need to transfer that to the game, and hopefully it’s this weekend that it will work out for us.”
Touring together
Ackermann has made several changes to the team that crashed 61-49 to Bristol at Loftus Versfeld last Saturday, with Kurt-Lee Arendse and Cheswill Jooste back from injury lay-offs and on the wings and Sebastian de Klerk at outside centre, among changes at the back.
There are also several new faces up front, with Marcell Coetzee picked to lead the side in a back row that also includes Nizaam Carr and Mpilo Gumede. Akker van der Merwe gets a run at hooker, while Reinhardt Ludwig and Ruan Vermaak will lock the scrum.
Ackermann further hoped that spending quality time together on tour would bring the players and coaches closer to each other over the coming days. Following Friday’s match in France, the Bulls head to Scotland next week for a URC match against Edinburgh on the Friday.
“This is a great group of guys. There’s no moaning from anyone. We’re now spending a lot of time together, and hopefully connecting as well,” said Ackermann.
“When you’re at home [in Pretoria] everyone has his own routine and heads home after training.
“Hopefully being here, in this beautiful place and experiencing another country, will pull us closer together as well.”
