Johan Ackermann said he was "mostly pleased about the character of the Vodacom Bulls players" after their 19-17 win over Edinburgh on Friday evening, particularly in overturning a 12-point half-time deficit.
Ackermann highlighted his team's character and stated he "never doubted" they could come back from the deficit. The ability to stay in the fight under pressure was the most pleasing aspect for him.
“There was no panic. That calmness was exactly the feeling we had at half-time. Even with the scoreboard pressure, there was a belief that we could turn it around, that we could put pressure on them and score tries if we needed to.”
“We felt at half-time that we were starting to get the upper hand physically. We said there were only two tries in it and that if we got our structure right, we could score.”
He noted the hard-fought nature of the match and the significant physical toll on the players, especially on the artificial surface, stressing that recovery would be key.
Despite securing back-to-back away victories on their European tour, Ackermann remained grounded, emphasising that it was only "one win" and there was still a lot of hard work ahead, with consistency being the real test.
“We all strive for that perfect game where every 22 entries end in points; the top teams do that. That’s definitely a big work-on for us. We missed a fair few opportunities: penalties, lineout mauls, scrums.”
“I can live with mistakes; nobody’s perfect. What I want to see is a team that plays with pride and effort, and that’s what we saw, especially in the last two weeks.”
“There are still too many unforced errors and penalties we can’t control. Those little things, half a step offside, poor exits, we’re not going to get away with that. If we want to progress to the playoffs, we have to be much better.”
“You seldom have momentum for a full game, but we can’t have those big fluctuations. If we drop our error rate and become more clinical, it will help us a lot.”
Ackermann confirmed that both Cheswill Jooste and Sebastian de Klerk suffered head knocks during the match and would likely be unavailable for the next game due to the mandatory 12-day return-to-play protocol.
“Unfortunately, they both suffered head knocks. They’re both looking fine this morning [Saturday], being up and about and in good spirits with us.”
“But obviously, they’ll have to do the mandatory return-to-play protocol for failed head injury assessments. Both of them will probably be unavailable for next week, being a 12-day compulsory time, they have to be out.”
He also praised players off the field, noting their willingness to serve the team by helping with post-match duties, which he sees as a sign of the team culture they are building.