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Bulls veteran loose forward Marcell Coetzee says new head coach Johan Ackermann has brought fresh energy ahead of their United Rugby Championship campaign.
Coetzee will captain the Bulls in the absence of Ruan Nortjé.
The Pretoria outfit reached the URC final but fell short against Leinster, a defeat that came with sharp criticism from former coach Jake White, who questioned whether the squad was good enough to win at the highest level.
Coetzee says the squad has taken those lessons to heart and is determined to respond positively.
"I think if you play for this union you always back yourself in any format you play with and also finals, it's not always easy. Even the road to finals can be difficult in such but on the day we just met a Leinster side that was hungrier and we didn't have an answer for that but in failure you do get your learnings and we've identified staff that didn't work for us and we wanna continue building that towards the next season,” Coetzee said.
“So, but the belief amongst the players, the management and obviously coach Acker coming on board, sense of a new energy and that's what we players feed off and we are really excited for the next season."
Coetzee has praised Ackermann’s leadership style, describing him as approachable and honest with his feedback, qualities he believes are already helping the team grow.
He adds that the former Lions and Gloucester coach has quickly fitted into the Bulls’ culture and given players confidence to express themselves.
"If you take a guy like Janse van Rensburg, they bring a lot of experience from overseas and then with the youngsters that joined us for the URC, they feed off that. I also see the standard at training and I think it's been very positive so far, the boys get along very well with them and they basically came home and it's great to have him here,” he added.
“We welcome everyone that comes here and wants to contribute because ultimately it's a great union to serve and I think every player, new player or old, everyday you come to this office, you're willing to give your best for this union and I think that's the strong culture that we drive here as leadership."
