That was the simple, effective message from coach Johan Ackermann to his Vodacom Bulls side that inspired their incredible comeback to shock Glasgow Warriors in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship semifinal at Murrayfield on Saturday. Ackermann said his team were a bit shellshocked at being 21-3 down, and clawed their way back to win the game 22-21 in the end, marking one of the greates comebacks in URC history as they booked their fourth final in five years. But while Johan Grobbelaar got them on
the board just before the break, what happened next was the big difference in the game, and Ackermann credited his senior players for the way they emerged from the tunnel. “I’m very grateful and obviously thank the Lord for spoiling us with this victory and just this grace. I think credit to the leaders of the team at halftime,” Ackermann said after the game. “A lot of the senior guys stood up and said that we can’t control the result, but we can control if
we’re going to go into our shells or if we’re going to come out and play hard. My only thing was, guys, we’re 21-10 down. I only ask one thing, let’s go score the first try. “If we score the first try and it’s 21-17, then we’re in the game. The boys responded to that. They went out and we scored the first try and then we saw the belief. “Overall, the whole 80 minutes, there was obviously not a good period in the first
half, but the boys were proud of the character they showed.” Ackermann added that he had the belief the whole time his side could fight back for the win, and it was the same belief that had carried them through the season. “We knew that we were in a fight and I think we were disappointed in some of our breakdown work. Like I said, the two yellow cards didn’t help. Glasgow is a quality attack team and if you’ve got a player short, you’ll
always struggle a bit,” he explained. “But the belief was there. We felt if we could still score a try. We felt that before halftime and the message was if we can score first we will be back in it. I think if they scored and they went to 28, it would have been a massive mountain to climb. “But we just felt if we can get a bit of momentum. I won’t lie, it obviously looked daunting when they kept on scoring those two
tries from a coaching point of view. But the big thing was for us to score first and just get the belief back.” Ackermann explained that it was never going to be pretty, but the hard work done up front and the impact of the bench had a lot to do with the win. “If you look at it, our forwards had to work extremely hard, especially with the two yellow cards. That try that we scored to make it 21-10 was important and it
was a grind. We scored, Marcell scored, it was disallowed. “Then we had to grind again. Our scrum was very good tonight. So the forwards had to work extremely hard. Then in the second half, I felt our bench, every player that came on made a difference. And again, maybe it’s credit to how each player has taken up his role and contributed to that. It was overall a team performance and I said to the players now afterwards, it’s credit even to the players
who didn’t play, preparing the team and giving the energy. “It was just a great performance from the boys.” Ackermann now has 13 days to get the team right for the final, another daunting task against Leinster in their back yard. And he knows it will be an uphill battle to defeat the side that has the richest history in the competition and almost never loses at home. But he will have that belief, and knows this week it will be all about reaffirming it.
And this Glasgow win, which he ranks as one of the best of his career, underlined that. “This must be right at the top. I can just – I’m lost for words actually – It felt to me like I couldn’t believe the whistle went and we won. We really showed so much commitment tonight. “The players, I’m so proud of the team. I want to thank the Lord, he’s really blessing us. It’s a privilege to be part of this team and this occasion.
“The comeback is special – I won’t lie, because they were really playing good rugby. Franco (Smith, Glasgow coach) has got a team now together for four years and they’re a quality team. Therefore, this is probably one of the best victories I had, just the character that the guys showed.” The Bulls will need that character again when they enter Croke Park in two weeks time for the final.
Vodacom Bulls, Glasgow Warriors, URC semifinal, Murrayfield, Johan Ackermann, Johan Grobbelaar, Franco Smith, Leinster, Croke Park