Ackermann proud of fighting Bulls after emphatic Champions Cup opener

The Pretoria side ran in eight tries, including a hat-trick from Cheswill Jooste, to secure a maximum haul in their Pool 4 opener against an understrength Parisian outfit.

However, Ackermann quickly stressed that the final margin did not fully reflect the contest.

"Obviously, I'm proud of the guys. To get the win is the most important thing; we got that, and the bonus point is in the bag as well," he said.

"It was a fight; it wasn't that easy, as probably the scoreline showed. We probably made it a little bit difficult for ourselves by conceding penalties in the first half, making errors, and not executing well.

"In the second half, there was better execution; we still missed a few opportunities, but they showed a lot of character, and the conditions were tough out there."

The Bulls led 21-6 at half-time after early scores from Jooste, Cobus Wiese and Cameron Hanekom, but Stade Français responded after the break through Jacques Botha and Petero Mailulu to close the gap.

The home side pulled clear with late tries from Marco van Staden, Jeandre Rudolph, Jan-Hendrik Wessels, and two more from Jooste.

Ackermann revealed frustration from the coaches' box during a period of the first half when the visitors enjoyed significant territory and possession despite trailing on the scoreboard.

"We were quite frustrated up in the coaches' box because it was great that we started well, but then we went into a block where we just made it easy for them," he said.

"It was either we conceded a penalty, or we would knock the ball on in less than two phases, and they get the scrum and slow it down, or they get an easy entry into our half.

"It was around the 34th/35th minute; the stats we had showed that they had 62% ball and they only made 22 tackles, yet we were leading on the scoreboard, and it didn't feel that way.

"It's definitely a work on for us; if teams come here, we must make them work a bit harder."

The coach reserved special praise for centre Sango Xamlashe, who preferred over Stedman Gans, and fullback Luan Giliomee, who was making his first start after joining from the Sharks.

"Sango showed us good signs when he joined us in training, and we just felt maybe it's a good time to rotate Stedman Gans," Ackermann said.

"He justified the selection; he played well. I was very happy with his game, especially defensively.

"Luan was playing well for the Sharks, slotted in well, did his homework, and we could see he's comfortable with the plays.

"He was quite steady, nothing flashy, a good performance. I spoke to him in the changing room; there was an opportunity late in the game that he missed. I think he should've kicked it for himself over the line.

"But we're happy with our selections; even the front row, we pushed them a long time because they haven't played a lot of rugby in a long time."

READ MORE: Bulls dominate Stade Francais in Champions Cup opener