Bulls to focus on fitness and breakdown work ahead of URC season

Ackermann was assessing the lessons from the Bulls’ 50-19 loss to the All Blacks at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday, with the match providing valuable preparation against international opposition.

The Pretoria side will open their 2026-27 URC campaign away to Zebre Parma in Italy on the 26th of September. Before that, the Bulls are scheduled to face the Stormers in a pre-season fixture on the 11th of September in Paarl.

"We know now that we obviously need to build on our fitness, but that will also come with a few games, and there aren 't many before the URC kicks off. We 've only got one warm-up game, and that's against the Stormers on 11 September down in Paarl," said Ackermann.

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"We're then back, and thereafter there's three weeks before we play the Stormers, and there's one week of fine-tuning before we go into the URC. Obviously, we fly over on Tuesday before we play Zebre, and then it's Zebre and Munster. So we've got a few weeks to get the guys ready."

"We will take a lot out of this game and work on that, but there are one or two other things we want to add in the next couple of weeks. However, our main priority will be our conditioning."

Bulls captain Marcell Coetzee agrees there are areas that require attention after the demanding encounter with the All Blacks, with the breakdown identified as one of the key areas for improvement.

The experienced loose forward says sharpening their work at the breakdown will be important as the Bulls prepare for a demanding season that will require greater consistency and accuracy in their performances.

Ackermann also believes the All Blacks’ approach of launching attacks from deep inside their own territory could be difficult to reproduce when they meet the Springboks in the opening Test of Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry.

The Springboks host New Zealand at Ellis Park on Saturday, with the first Test of the four-match series followed by further meetings in Cape Town, Johannesburg and Baltimore. Ackermann expects the Boks to present a very different challenge, particularly in how they defend and apply pressure.