The Hollywoodbets Sharks defeated the Vodacom Bulls 21-12 on Saturday at Kings Park in Durban. Johan Ackermann lamented his team's missed opportunities and inability to convert pressure into points.
Head coach Johan Ackermann said that the loss “hurts a lot” and he felt that fate was against his team, as every “bounce” and 50-50 decision seemed to go the Sharks' way.
“At the moment, it still hurts a lot. We felt we were in the game for most of it, and then it slipped away from us at the end.”
The primary source of frustration was the Bulls' inability to convert their scrum dominance and possession into tries. They often gained penalties from scrums, kicked to the lineout, only to lose the ball a phase or two later.
“We got penalties from the scrum, kicked to the lineout, and then we’d lose the lineout or lose the breakdown a phase or two later. We didn’t use our opportunities. That’s the reality.”
Ackermann stated he “can't fault the effort of the players,” but there were “definitely too many mistakes” which prevented them from capitalising on their halftime 12-07 lead.
“But I can’t fault the effort. The players kept fighting right to the end. But when you lose, there are things you have to fix. People want results, and that’s what we need to deliver.”
“We have to learn quickly. The effort is there; now we need to turn pressure into points.”
Despite the disappointment, Ackermann praised the atmosphere at Kings Park.
“It’s great for South African rugby to have a local game with a crowd like that. It felt like the old days, that deafening noise. It’s special for the players, and you could see how much it meant to the Sharks supporters.”
The Bulls held a 14-12 lead with 20 minutes to go, but the Sharks' bench impact shifted the momentum, leading to late tries that sealed the win. This continued a trend of the Bulls falling off in the last quarter of games.
“In the second half, we got turnovers and some reward, but we didn’t capitalise. Two or three phases later, we’d give the ball away again.”
“Then there were crucial moments, a penalty on halfway, a breakdown, an aerial contest, and suddenly we were pushed back and they scored.”
“It’s one of those things that’s hard to explain. The harder you try, the more it feels like nothing wants to come your way.”
“Every little bounce, every 50-50 decision, it just didn’t go for us.”
“We lost key moments in the second half.”
“It was one of those situations where the harder we tried, the more things did not go our way.”
“We understand that our supporters will feel let down, but sometimes you go through struggles for a reason.”