The Bulls say their defence will have to be better than it’s been all season, and they cannot afford to incur the wrath of the referee, come their URC final against Leinster.
The Pretoria side will play in their fourth United Rugby Championship final in five years, at Croke Park next Friday, after two yellow cards almost cost them their semifinal against Glasgow Warriors, while three cards in the second half effectively ended all hope for the Stormers in their semifinal defeat to Leinster.
Glasgow scored two tries against the Bulls while Handré Pollard was in the sin bin for a deliberate knock-on, while referee Andrew Brace awarded a penalty try to the hosts when Ruan Nortjé collapsed a maul illegally.
The Stormers fought from 13-0 down, but yellow cards to Leolin Zas (deliberate knock-on) and Salmaan Moerat (kicking the ball out of Jamison Gibson-Park’s hands), and a 20-minute red card to Ruan Ackermann (dangerous cleanout) arrested their momentum against Leinster.
Though the Bulls were able to fight back from 21-3 down, the Stormers fell 20-11.
‘Keep calm and have good discipline’
Bulls coach Johan Ackermann said Thursday they had “failed that test” in discipline against Glasgow.
“If you analyse Leinster, they probably win every game that they start fast and get a good lead. So we can’t afford that ill-discipline, either at the start of the game or at the back-end,” he said.
“It’s unnecessary to put yourselves under that (pressure) because we all know what the laws say regarding tackles, so let’s try stay in that law.
“And then most of the time, if you go for the intercept and you don’t get it, they will pin you for a slap down. With so much at stake and the high pressure and emotion involved, we must keep calm and have good discipline.”
Bulls hope to nullify Leinster’s fast start
Ackermann reflected on Leinster’s converted try and penalty in the first quarter against the Stormers, as well as their two early tries against the Bulls in last year’s final, which they easily won 32-7.
“We need to deal with it better than we did against Glasgow because we also knew Glasgow always start well,” the Bulls coach said.
“But sometimes things don’t go as planned, so we have to be able to deal with all the scenarios.”
He said the Stormers would have also been well aware of the need to keep Leinster quiet at the start, but they still failed.
“We will have to be much better than we have been this whole season if we want to have any chance (of winning),” he added.
