Mental toughness key factor in Bulls win, says Ackermann

Staying in the fight and showing mental toughness during a dominant 57-15 win over the Lions bodes well for his team's prospects this season, coach Johan Ackermann says.

A rampant Bulls side ran in nine tries in a one-sided Jukskei derby encounter which had promised to be a much closer affair between the two old arch-rivals.

Ackermann made several changes to his squad after last week’s narrow 26-22 defeat to Munster at Thomond Park, including a raft of Springboks in his match-day 23.

“I’m proud of the guys after this display,” Ackermann said.

“The maturity they showed to start well and to stay in the fight, even though we lost a few balls where we had opportunities, made me proud."

Ackermann praised his returning Springboks for the way they gelled after returning to URC action from international duty.

"The coaches sent them material on Monday, met them individually on Tuesday and trained with them on Thursday, after a Wednesday off," he said.

“It wasn’t perfect; there were still mistakes, but you could see they were buying into what we want to do.

"Man of the match, Cameron Hanekom showed his strengths, and that stood out in some of the phases against the Lions.

"He hasn’t played with us for a long time, came in and slotted in nicely, and I’m just proud of his effort, and everybody’s effort.

"Cameron is a quality player.”

Hanekom said the Bulls had managed to match the Lions in a high-intensity derby game.

“It was a tough match for the Bulls," he said.

"The Lions are a big team and have been coming up over the past few years.

"They are a side that plays at a high tempo, so it was a fast-paced game, and I am proud of the boys that we could match it.

“We controlled things well and executed when we needed.

"The Bulls put a big emphasis on our first game back at home, so it was a special performance, and I am very happy to be back with the boys.”

Bulls skipper Hanro Liebenberg said the returning Boks lifted the mood in the Bulls squad.

“They set the benchmark, and we’ve almost got to follow that,” he said.

“We pride ourselves on our physicality, and we did that well.

"Not everything went our way.

"We had some opportunities where we lost a few balls.

"But we stayed on task, so I am very proud of the guys and their effort.

“The first 10 to 15 minutes were a bit nervy.

“The boys found their feet, and after we found our feet, we had a few opportunities even in the first half which we didn’t capitalise on.

“As soon as we got our opportunities again, we took them better.

"That was the main work on for us from the Munster game.

"We knew this wasn’t going to be an easy game.”

The Bulls now switch their attention to an opening match in the Investec Champions Cup against French side Stade Francais at Loftus on Saturday.

After their dominant display against the Lions, there will be no shortage of confidence in the ranks of the home team.

Saturday's Champions Cup fixtures: 2pm: Bulls v Stade Francais, 4.15pm: Stormers v Bristol, 6.30pm: La Rochelle v Lions.

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