‘I could feel it in the warm-up’: Bulls coach praises team’s work-rate after thrashing Cardiff

2026-03-22 - 06:40

Bulls coach Johan Ackermann praised how hard his team fought in every department during their 40-7 thrashing of Cardiff at Loftus on Friday night. The game followed their 32-19 defeat to the Stormers last week and lifted the Bulls from eighth to seventh on the United Rugby Championship table, though the Lions could overtake them with a win against Edinburgh on Saturday afternoon. The Pretoria side were particularly good in the first half, running in five of their six tries. Their only shortfall was trying too hard to force chances in the second half, Ackermann said. “I could feel it in the warm-up,” the Bulls coach said. “The boys were really focused and there was good energy. “The next positive was even though we started okay and missed a few opportunities – they scored first – we responded well to that. Then we played well in the first half, although there were missed opportunities.” He referred to Cardiff outside centre Harri Millard intercepting a pass and running 50m to score in the first three minutes. ‘So dangerous in that space’ But man of the match Embrose Papier and Kurt-Lee Arendse were rewarded for their own individual brilliance. Scrumhalf Papier controlled the tempo superbly as the Bulls kept the game at a high pace against a travelling Cardiff side playing at altitude, and he capped his performance with a try. Arendse set up a David Kriel try, pouncing on a loose ball, finding a gap and drawing the last defender in before passing to Kriel. He then similarly fielded a box kick, darted through a gap, drew a defender and then passed to Papier to score. “Embrose is so dangerous in that space. He showed his speed and class, and he made a turnover contesting a breakdown, and his kicking was good. “So he had a good game and it’s good to have him back,” the coach said after Papier missed the Stormes game for the birth of his baby. Bulls enjoy the return of Cameron Hanekom Ackermann lauded the work rate of loose forwards Marcell Coetzee and Nizaam Carr, hooker Johan Grobbelaar, and lock Ruan Nortjé, the last of whom he said looked like his old self again. Another “big positive” was that last year’s URC Next-Gen Player of the Season, eighthman Cameron Hanekom, returned from a nine-month injury lay-off and didn’t just remain uninjured, but shone when he came on in the second half. “He showed his class by carrying well and putting a lot of pressure on the attackers. “Then he got his turnover. That will give him confidence, getting his first one. It’s good to have him back and hopefully it can go upwards.”