‘It’s a great occasion, but we are underprepared,’ says Bulls boss Ackermann

Bulls coach Johan Ackermann said that his team were relishing the chance to test themselves against the All Blacks in their Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry tour match at Loftus on Saturday, but admitted that they would not be at their peak for the match.

The game comes when the Bulls ordinarily would have just returned from their off-season break and would only be in the conditioning phase of their preparations for the coming season, but instead had to return early.

Having reached the United Rugby Championship final in late June, the Bulls also ended their season later than the other South African sides, leaving even less time off and time to prepare than some of the other teams have had.

“It’s not to use it as an excuse, but the fact that we went to the final means we had less time to prepare than the other franchises,” explained Ackermann.

“We would probably only just have returned from the break, we had to cut the break short. We have to give the guys a five-week break, but we could only give them three weeks.

“Conditioning is one thing, but your body, after three or four weeks, loses its contact ability. So we had to fast-track all of that. If this game wasn’t there, we would probably have been in a conditioning phase only. So it has put a bit of pressure on us.”

Ideal situation

Ackermann explained that the Bulls would ideally have liked to get some players match fit and tested some systems before heading into a game of this magnitude, but unfortunately they were unable to do that.

“Normally you play a warm-up match or two, you trial stuff, see if it works and see what players are in form. Now we’re basically picking from the squad we’ve got left, and then the odd guys who were unlucky not to be selected have been given off training. It’s a bit unfair, but that’s the hand we’ve got,” said Ackermann.

“It’s a great occasion, but we will definitely be a bit underprepared from where we want to be. We’re building up to the URC and that’s still a few weeks away, so we don’t want to peak now.

“We just want to embrace the occasion and hopefully get a reward for what we’ve tried to practise over the last few weeks.”

Despite their struggles, Ackermann says his team will be going all out to make things difficult for the All Blacks, and they will hope to challenge them like the Stormers did, and not be run over like the Sharks were.

“Listen, we’re competitive, and we’re going to give them a run for their money, hopefully. That’s the aim. We don’t want to make it easy.”