Ackermann lauds squad rotation as Bulls overwhelm Stade Français at Loftus

Bulls coach Johan Ackermann expressed his pleasure with his team’s depth after securing a dominant 56-20 Champions Cup victory over the visiting French side Stade Français at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday but warned they need to remain grounded before a busy season ahead.

The hosts put on a clinic at high altitude on Saturday, with the visitors visibly struggling to adapt to the conditions.

The Bulls showed marked strength to overpower Stade, forcing errors and scoring three tries in the opening half before dominating the second with five.

Ackermann highlighted the team’s depth as a major strength as he rotated the squad, putting out a combination that mixed youth with experienced heads.

“At the moment, it’s a tough place to be a coach because we’ve got heavy competition in the squad, and somehow we have to balance the squad with a bit of cohesion but also trusting other players instead of playing some players a lot,” Ackermann said after the dominant performance.

“Happy with our selection, even the front row. We pushed them a long time because they haven’t played a lot of rugby the past few weeks, and Alu [Tshakweni] and Khuthu [Mchunu] played well. So, happy with the guys who got the opportunity.”

Cobus Wiese, Cameron Hanekom, Marco van Staden, Jeandré Rudolph, and Jan-Hendrik Wessels all crossed the whitewash, while Handré Pollard registered eight conversions.

However, it was winger Cheswill Jooste who took the limelight with three tries, earning the player-of-the-match award.

Ackermann praised Jooste but pleaded for him and the team’s youngsters to show humility, as they are not yet finished articles.

“Cheswill showed his individual ability in that kickoff try, so I’m proud of his performance. Now, obviously, the challenge is to stay humble, to learn and to grow,” he said.

“There were opportunities and still areas that we felt he could have made some good decisions. But just pleased for where he is from a confidence point of view and how he’s grown as a player since he started to play senior rugby.”

At Stade Marcel-Deflandre in France, despite the 31-14 loss to La Rochelle, the Lions showed incredible courage to play the fixture after the death of Hyron Andrews on the eve of the match. He was found unresponsive in his hotel room. Henco van Wyk, Chris Smith and Morne Brandon all played key roles.

In Cape Town, the Stormers breezed past the Bristol Bears with a 49-12 victory over the visitors. Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu was at the centre of the victory with seven conversions, while Johan Roche recorded two tries.