Bulls to prepare for URC final against Leinster at home in Pretoria

One of the juicy rewards for the Bulls players after their courageous defeat of the Glasgow Warriors in the URC semi-final is preparing for the Dublin final in Pretoria.

There is a fallow week between the semi-final and the final, and the Bulls had the choice of making the short trip from Edinburgh to Dublin and spending the best part of a fortnight in the Irish capital before the final on June 19, or returning to Pretoria and then travelling to Ireland shortly before the match against Leinster .

Coach Johan Ackermann decided on the latter after a debate with his coaching staff and senior players.

Ackermann, speaking from Pretoria on Tuesday, June 9, said there were pros and cons to both scenarios, but an important point raised by the players was their experience in last year’s final, where they spent a long period in Dublin and suffered a big defeat.

At this stage of the season, Ackermann says rest and recuperation are more important than time on the training pitch. He has given his players several days to relax at home.

“It wasn’t an easy decision, but there are advantages and disadvantages to whichever decision we would have taken,” Ackermann said.

“For me, it was important to get the emotional side of the preparation correct for the players, and after chatting to the management and players, we decided it would be better to prepare at home with the facilities that we are used to. That would also allow the players to be with their families and spend time with their children.

“At the moment, we plan to train on Thursday and Friday and then fly out on Monday to Ireland.”

Earlier this season, the Bulls spent the month of April in Europe for Champions Cup and URC games, plus a bye week between their games against Glasgow and the Dragons. Ackermann said that the lengthy time spent together had benefited team spirit and culture — they spent a week relaxing in the south of France — but that it is a different situation at the end of the season.

“Remember, that time we needed to book a return ticket in any case, because we played Glasgow in the round of 16, and we didn’t know if we needed to come back for a game against the Stormers or head to France. We simply did a pre-booking for Toulon in case we needed to travel there and stay for the quarter-final,” Ackermann explained.

“We knew that if we lost, we would stay in France for nine or 10 days, and we decided to use it to get the team morale up. We had two very important URC games in the next two weeks thereafter, and we needed to stay in the same hotel in Wales during those two weeks.

"If we lost to Glasgow, we would have had to stay three weeks in the same hotel in Cardiff, and we decided it would be too boring for the players. So, we gave them a bit of a change of scenery. Those decisions are always challenging when you don’t know how you are going to travel and it depends on a win or loss.”

Ackermann mentioned that the travel from Pretoria to Edinburgh for the semi-final had been far from ideal.

The Bulls travelled in four different groups because there wasn’t space for everyone on one plane.

“We’re going to rest now at home. It is always nice to sleep in your own bed,” Ackermann said. “And then return later this week to put the plans in place for the final.”