Ackermann sees lessons for Bulls after 50-19 All Blacks defeat at Loftus

Johan Ackermann believes the Vodacom Bulls can turn their 50-19 defeat by the All Blacks into useful preparation for the new United Rugby Championship season. New Zealand scored eight tries to the Bulls’ three at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday.

The Bulls coach accepted that his side was not ready to match the All Blacks after only recently returning to training following a long URC campaign. He said a longer preparation period could have produced a stronger performance against the New Zealanders.

Ackermann still viewed the match as an important test for his players. The experience showed them the level required against opposition of that quality and gave the coaching staff a clear set of areas to address before the domestic and European campaign begins.

The defeat has also left the Bulls with limited time to apply those lessons. They will have a week away from training before beginning the next phase of their preparation, followed by about three weeks before their only warm-up match against the Stormers on 11 September.

Conditioning has been identified as the immediate priority. After the Stormers fixture, the Bulls will have one further week to make final adjustments before opening their URC campaign against Zebre. Ackermann also expects the team to add one or two elements to its game during the remaining preparation period.