Johan Ackermann
Emirates Lions coach Johan Ackermann knows his side face a steep climb if they are to challenge for a play-off spot this season.
The Johannesburg side are currently in 8th position on the standings, and with 4 of their 5 remaining opponents above them on the log they will need to knock some top sides over in order to secure a place in the knock-out phase of the competition for the 1st time since the Cats did so in 2001.
Although his side have surprised many with their fighting spirit this season, Ackermann knows that they still face an uphill battle with home games against the Highlanders, Brumbies and Waratahs and away games against the Stormers and Cheetahs.
“Except for the Cheetahs the rest of our games are against teams in the Top 7, and that shows you the amount of rugby that lies ahead and the quality of the teams that we are going to play against,” he said.
The Lions coach expects the Highlanders to be riding high after their comfortable victory over the Sharks, and added that preparations will be made tougher by the fact that 5 of his players will be at a Springbok training camp until Thursday.
“The Highlanders are going to be a massive challenge, I think they are going to have high confidence after the way they played and the way they punished the Sharks so it is another big game for us and we have to juggle that with players going to the Springboks as well so that is going to be challenging,” he said.
Ackermann was proud of the heart his side showed to run the Bulls close at Loftus Versfeld, and explained that a sloppy 1st half performance had left them with too much to do after halftime.
“I think it was in our own hands, the mistakes that we made like the 1st lineout where we overthrowed and they went and scored.
“Credit to the guys in the 2nd half, we won on the scoreboard in the 2nd half but unfortunately it is over 80 minutes.
“I am willing to lose as long as every player plays with passion and commitment and I think that is what they did so I can’t fault them on that.
“I think in general the opportunities were there but we didn’t play well enough in the 1st half and in the 2nd half when we took the lead there was the odd mistake that crept in,” he said.
Ackermann was impressed with how clinical the Bulls were, and praised them for their enterprising approach on attack.
“Credit to the Bulls, I think they played a good game, especially in that 1st half they actually also spread the ball and played with a lot of freedom which was good to see.
“They punished us on every mistake we made – every lineout and 50 / 50 ball that we lost they were clinical to finish that off,” he said.
Hooker Robbie Coetzee is battling with a calf strain, but Ackermann is hopeful that he will be available to face the Highlanders.
“Robbie Coetzee was not comfortable with his calf and he is going off to the Boks so hopefully they will look after him there and we will get a report back from their medical staff but at this stage we are confident that he will be available for next week,” he said.
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