BULLS SEASON PREVIEW: Can Ackermann finally lead the side to URC glory?

It will sound like obvious thinking but this year the Vodacom Bulls need to bury the heartache of another lost Vodacom United Rugby Championship final against Leinster and use that emotion to fuel their quest for their first title in the competition.

The Bulls record in the URC is good, but doesn’t border on great simply because they have not overcome their own demons in the tournament. Four final appearances in five years is not good reading - other than in terms of being the most consistent side in getting to the last dance.

But to quote that famous Kitch Christie line: You don’t get to finals to lose them.

So far, that is all the Bulls have done in the URC. And while there have been asterixis next to all four finals, and reasons for their losses, that stat is the one that will haunt Johan Ackermann’s side as they look to overcome their own obstacles and look to try and win a title.

In this sense, Ackermann’s appointment was always a strange one. A top coach by any measurement, his record saw two Super Rugby final losses before joining the Bulls. In terms of the trophy cabinet, the success wasn’t there.

The Bulls had their own issues with Jake White’s reign - an unhappy player base, three lost URC finals in four years and a fourth - if you count the strange and unsuccessful Rainbow Cup campaign before the URC was formed.

So what will it take for this side to finally get over the line? And why will this year be such a difficult one for them to do it?

ACKERMANN’S SECOND YEAR

There are things that count in their favour. They have a second year under Ackermann - one that isn’t as rushed and disjointed as last season and they are comfortable with the way they play.

Ackermann himself also acknowledged that their Springboks will only miss two weeks of the campaign this year, so they should never have the excuse of being too under-done.

The Bulls also have depth in most positions, although the losses they experienced in the off-season will test them, as they are key figures.

Both Kurt-Lee Arendse and Ruan Nortje are off to Japan - and both of them have played key parts in the Bulls campaigns over the years, especially Nortje with his leadership style and never-ending engine on the field.

Both will be significant losses that the Bulls need to replace. And how they do that will go a long way to answering the question of whether they can challenge for the title once again.

The biggest blow, however, was the loss of Wilco Louw, the Springbok behemoth who has terrorised scrums across the world. Nobody blames Louw for wanting to return home to the family farm after his father passed away last season, but his departure creates a massive hole in the Bulls scrum they need to fill.

In his absence, Francois Kloppers, who made major strides last season, needs to step up and make sure he fulfills his promise. But even so, Louw is a massive loss, and it can’t be understated what a difference he makes to any scrum.

FOCUS ON TIGHTHEADS

Outside Kloppers, SA under-20 tighthead Mawande Mdanda will be closely watched and there will be much focus on the other two tightheads in Khutha Mchunu and Mornay Smith, both who have a lot of experience and need to show it this season.

A tighthead may be the most important component of any season, because if the one you have back-pedals, you can be in for a torrid time up front.

The fact that the Bulls sport Gerhard Steenekamp and Jan-Hendrik Wessels, as well as Sti Sithole on the loosehead side will see them stable there, with Akker van der Merwe, Wessels and Bok Johan Grobbelaar in the hooking role. They have a formidable front row if the tighthead side can bring their game.

Nortje’s role will need to be filled primarily by former SA under-20 captain JF van Heerden, who burst onto the scene and then disappeared during the latter parts of the URC last year.

The Bulls also have Reinhardt Ludwig, who can also play seven and has captained the side before, and is back from injury, while Bok Nicolaas Janse van Rensburg still has to show himself to be a signing that the Bulls have been rewarded with, as injuries and concussions have complicated his stay at Loftus thus far.

The loosies are well-rounded, especially when Elrigh Louw and Cameron Hanekom return, while Paul de Wet and Embrose Papier should support Handre Pollard and Curwin Bosch during the season.

POLLARD TO PLAY 12 MORE?

The backline is also likely to see Pollard play 12 more with just Harold Vorster and Sango Xamlashe signed up in the role for the season. Stedman Gans played there last season but it is clear to see the hole that David Kriel has left with his departure for La Rochelle.

With Willie le Roux still the playmaker at the back, a lot will depend on how some of the new signings - Griquas’ Dylan Maart, Munster’s Thaakir Abrahams, Hakeem Kunene from the Sharks fit in, while much is expected from Sebastian de Klerk’s return from injury and from Boks like Canan Moodie and SA A upstart Luan Gilomee (who joins in December).

How Ackermann is able to put this puzzle together, combining the Bulls traditional strengths up front with some strikepower out wide will determine their fate. Last season the team went on a seven game losing streak primarily because they were caught between two game plans, but once they buckled down the results came.

And that was, once again, good enough to get them to the Final, but not for the ultimate prize.

Ackermann believes though the team are in a better spot this time around and is confident that once they get going, things will fall into place.

“The season is gonna have pressure. That's the main thing because the Bulls supporters expect us to do well. And I think that for me is is probably more of a challenge that we don't wanna let them down.

“So we can't change that (last year’s) final. Now we can't really change it, and we haven't earned the right to play there again. So we can't worry too much about that. Our challenge is Zebre. They will be fired up.

"They've got a full healthy squad. Normally if you get them at the back end of the season and they're out of it and they're running, it's probably a little bit different. But now we're getting them in good form, and that's our focus and that's all we can control.

WEEKLY FOCUS

“I know it sounds like a cliché but we coaches took some lessons out of that final and the build up to the final and what we think we can change from a training perspective.

“So, we'll take that lesson, but that will only apply once we get there. But before we get there, there are many teams with the same dream of playing in the final, so we just need to hit the ground running and focus weekly on our task.”

Ackermann underlined the fact that the Bulls can’t change everything that happened in the past, but need to look forward.

“You want to fix those red areas but stay strong in the green areas,” he said. “But personnel has changed, and we’re trying to change a few things tactically.

“Everybody will suss each other out in these first couple of rounds. Some teams will fire from round one, others will build up in the competition.

“We want to get over the line. We did a lot of good things last season. If we can keep doing that, hopefully we can give ourselves a chance.

“I said to the players, you can’t change where we went wrong. You just have to put it behind you and reset.

“That is what we will do.”

And in learning the lessons of the past, handling the challenges that come and knowing what areas they need to cover, the Bulls are confident. The season will deliver its own variables, and the Bulls know that.

Right now, all they can do is take it a week at a time. And make sure they hit the ground running - as Ackermann says - weekly to manage the marathon sprint.

And when the time comes - if they do get to a fifth final. They need to make it count.

VODACOM BULLS 2026/2027 (55)

FORWARDS (31)

Alulutho Tshakweni, Gerhard Steenekamp, Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Sti Sithole, Dylan Smith

Johan Grobbelaar, Akker van der Merwe, Juann Else, Janco Uys

Francois Klopper, Mornay Smith, Khuta Mchunu, Jean Erasmus, Mawande Mdanda

Ruan Vermaak, Cobus Wiese, Jaco Grobbelaar

JF van Heerden, Reinhardt Ludwig, Heinrich Theron, Nicolaas Jansen van Rensburg

Marco van Staden, Marcell Coetzee, Nama Xaba

Nizaam Carr, Elrigh Louw, Hanro Liebenberg

Cameron Hanekom, Mpilo Gumede, JJ Theron, Jeandré Rudolph

BACKS (24)