The Bulls lost 26-22 to Munster at Thomond Park on Saturday evening in the United Rugby Championship (URC). Head coach Johan Ackermann said his team made too many of its own mistakes.
The South African side came close to a second away win of the new season. Missed chances, lapses in defence, penalties and handling errors made the difference, IOL Sport reported.
“I felt proud of the effort, proud of how the guys fought, and even gave us a chance right at the end. If we could have scored a try, we could have got away with the win,” Ackermann said.
He said he was still disappointed. Ackermann said the result was there for the taking if one or two things had been better. He named execution, handling errors and decision making in the kicking and passing game.
“There were times when we should have passed but kicked, or vice versa, when we passed and forced the pass but should have kicked,” he said.
“Then, obviously, the handling errors and knock-ons meant we lacked a bit of possession as well as territory,” Ackermann added.
The two teams were level at 14-14 at half-time. The Bulls struggled to play in Munster’s half for long spells. They also gave away the ball too often, especially in the first half.
According to IOL Sport, the Bulls did well when they put Munster under pressure. Their defence worked hard, they created some good chances with ball in hand and their scrums held up.
Ackermann also complained about a couple of refereeing calls that went against his side, the report said.
“I haven’t got the stats yet, but it felt like we played a lot of the game in the wrong areas because of our own errors or maybe some penalties. But I’m proud, especially of the first part of the game. We really defended well,” he said.
The coach said Munster could have pulled away in the second half. He said only strong defence from his players stopped that from happening.
“I also want to give credit to Munster for their victory, but we didn’t help ourselves. Three of the soft tries they scored came off our errors,” Ackermann said.
The defeat came after the Bulls won their opening URC match of the season the weekend before.
Source: this article is based on reporting by IOL Sport. Image: IOL Sport. Written with the help of AI and published by the Tzaneen Voice Sports desk. See our Editorial Standards.
Tiyani Mathebula writes about sport for Tzaneen Voice. Tiyani covers Bafana Bafana, the Springboks, the Proteas and the PSL, along with athletics, tennis and local club sport. Match reports and previews focus on results, team news, fixtures and what each game means for South African teams and fans.