Vodacom Bulls coach Johan Ackermann was pleased with Cameron Hanekom’s return from a long injury layoff against Cardiff on Friday night.
The Springbok loose forward had been sidelined for nine months with a knee injury, but made an immediate impact after coming off the bench in the 52nd minute of the Bulls’ 40-7 win at Loftus, gaining valuable ground from the back of a scrum in the build-up to Ruan Vermaak’s try.
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Ackermann said the 23-year-old’s contribution was a major positive.
“He’s been out for a long time, so sometimes it takes a game or two to get back into it. But he showed his class by carrying well, putting pressure on the defence and getting a turnover.
“That will give him confidence. It’s good to have him back and hopefully it can just go upwards.”
The Bulls also welcomed back scrumhalf Embrose Papier, who missed the defeat to the Stormers due to the birth of his first child.
“He’s very dangerous in space – he showed his speed and class,” said Ackermann. “He also made a great turnover at the breakdown and his kicking was good. He had a good game.”
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Ackermann was pleased with how the Bulls bounced back from last week’s loss to the Stormers.
“First of all, we’re happy and grateful to be on the right side of the result,” he said. “I could feel it in the warm-up – the boys were really focused and there was good energy.
“We started OK, then they scored first, but I thought we responded well.
“We played well in the first half, although there were still missed chances.”
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The Bulls led 33-7 at the break, but could only add one more try to their tally.
“In the second half, we didn’t convert enough pressure. We made unforced errors, especially with offloads. Offloading is good, but it has to be accurate and there are certain principles around it.
“But if you told me beforehand we’d take the five points and move on, I would definitely have taken it.”
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Ackermann also highlighted an improvement in key areas.
“I thought our set-piece was much better than last week,” he said. “Our energy and body language were also much better.
“Overall, the biggest thing is that we got the win and got ourselves back on track. It was far from perfect and there’s a lot of work to be done, but we’ll take it.”
The Bulls, who moved up to seventh on the Vodacom URC log, host Munster next Saturday.
Photo: Vodacom Bulls
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