Cutting out defensive errors will be crucial for the Bulls if they want to tame an in-form Glasgow Warriors side in a Champions Cup last 16 clash in Scotland on Saturday, coach Johan Ackermann says.
The Bulls are fighting battles on two fronts as they bid to reach the United Rugby Championship (URC) playoffs and Champions Cup quarterfinals.
Ackermann has named a powerful touring squad for a testing away clash against the URC log-leaders at the Scotstoun Stadium (6.30pm kick-off).
“If we’re in the play-offs in the Champions Cup, we must give it a go,” Ackermann said.
“The Bulls will give it our best shot against Glasgow, and then we’ll take it from there.
“Glasgow are in front of us this week, but we’ll need to be better than we were against Munster in our last outing (the Bulls won 34-31) if we hope to win in Scotland.
“Glasgow will definitely punish us if we continue to make the defensive errors of the Munster match, so they will be a massive challenge over there.
“The Warriors are probably the best attacking side in the URC, so we have a big challenge ahead of us, but we’ve got nothing to lose.
“We are going to Glasgow and will work hard to give ourselves an opportunity to win. If we progress, that would be great.
“We want to give the Champions Cup a good run. We can’t control what happens after that. When we return to the URC, we’ll have to play our best available team every week because qualification is so tight.
“We understand it is a privilege to play in a Champions Cup Round of 16 match. The Bulls are alive in one of the best competitions in the world, so we will give it our best.”
The 33-man Bulls touring squad includes 14 Springboks and has a good blend of youth and experience.
“We left a lot of points out there against Munster,” Ackermann said.
“There were two or three big moments where we could have scored, and we didn’t. We had a lot of turnovers that we could have turned into really good tries or at least good field position, and we did not utilise that.
“Every team has special players who can do something out of nothing, and Embrose Papier showed that against Munster.
“When he gets space, Embrose is dangerous, and the same with Cheswil Jooste.”
Bulls captain Marcell Coetzee said it had been the team’s goal to target success in the URC and Champions Cup from the start of the season.
“In one of the first meetings with coach Ackermann, he said he wants to challenge in both competitions, and we were not going to lean towards one or the other,” he said.
“We jumped on board and are looking forward to te task awaiting us. At this stage of the season, you want to maintain that winning momentum and build on those two victories at Loftus Versfeld, and hopefully that will help with the confidence going into this one.
“But as a team, we create opportunities and then we don’t finish them.
“We now have the opportunity to progress to the next round of the Champions Cup.
“We are fighting in the URC, but we view every game as an opportunity to give our best to progress to the next level. The drive is to be part of this competition and give our best.
“The message to the boys is simple. This is an opportunity to grab, and we must make the best of it.”
TimesLIVE
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