Bulls riding high, having already faced the worst this season
· Citizen
The Bulls are all the better for the adversity they have overcome this season, and they now have the chance to secure a long-awaited United Rugby Championship (URC) title when they face Leinster in Dublin next Friday.
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The Bulls and Leinster meet at Croke Park for the second time in as many years, after they beat the Glasgow Warriors and Stormers, respectively, in the semifinals.
It will be the Bulls’ fourth URC final in five years, having fallen short against those same two teams, the Stormers and Glasgow, in previous years.
But while their 32-7 hammering by Leinster in last year’s showdown left Bulls players distraught, and former coach Jake White saying victory against a full-strength Leinster was simply impossible, they had a different outlook ahead of this year’s fixture.
‘There is a bigger picture’
Coach Johan Ackermann said reaching the final alone was the main objective for his first season in charge.
“I knew that taking into account the history of this place and how passionate the supporters are, if we didn’t get to the final there would be a lot of questions asked, especially if we didn’t get to the play-offs,” he said on Thursday.
He was even more grateful because the team went on a seven-match losing streak early in the season that prompted an assistant coach shake-up and questions to swirl around the management.
Losses included a 50-5 thrashing by Northampton Saints in the Champions Cup but also some narrow defeats to Union Bordeaux Bègles, the Stormers and Bristol Bears.
“I knew that pressure was on but the most important thing was I said to start building a culture and a philosophy of how I see rugby.
“I have the obligation to lead and get the atmosphere where the players can still be valued and enjoy what they do. That was my motivation because I believe rugby is great and we are all very passionate about it. But there is a bigger picture outside of that.”
Bulls find their mojo
The team bought into Ackermann’s culture-first approach and found cohesion and results.
They turned the tide when they finally scraped a 26-24 away win over Section Paloise (Pau).
“Sometimes you have to go through the desert before you get to the reward. As a man of faith I will always believe that everything always works out for the good.
“The real spark was credit to Neil (de Bruin) who came in and brought new energy and excitement.
“[Another] spark was the fact that the players kept believing in the plans we wanted to implement. The culture started to form, our values started to get more practical.
“Then that Pau game stands out, where we got over the line there. I saw a team that started believing in what we wanted to do.”
Now the Bulls are on an eight-match winning streak in the URC, with victories including a 45-14 whipping of 2023 winners Munster at Loftus and an impressive 22-21 comeback win over 2024 winners Glasgow in their semifinal in Edinburgh.
Ackermann again stressed gratitude as a core value for him and his team. If they fell against Leinster, they would still be thankful for what they had overcome as players and people.