Bulls expect tougher clash against wounded Munster
· Citizen
The Bulls believe their United Rugby Championship (URC) clash against Munster in Limerick this Saturday could be considerably harder than their season-opening game against Zebre in Parma.
The Bulls scored seven tries, including a penalty try, in their 47-13 victory over the Italian side at the weekend.
Visit catcross.biz for more information.
They now head to 2022/23 winners Munster, in Ireland, for another away fixture which will round off their tour of Europe before a first home match against the Lions.
Bulls head coach Johan Ackermann praised his team’s defence and lineouts against Zebre, as well as the performances of new signing Curwin Bosch, who controlled the game well and slotted all four of his conversions.
Ackermann said there were only about 40 minutes of game time in each player due to a lack of warm-up matches. So the coaches were nervous, but the players gave them a pleasant surprise.
‘Munster will bring a different challenge’
Still, the coach warned that Irish giants Munster would want to bounce back from their 26-20 home defeat to Glasgow Warriors.
“Although we had a good build-up with the guys, we made some sloppy errors in those first few minutes,” he said.
“That’s the part we must correct because Munster will bring a different challenge. If we’re not accurate in our entries or exits in the 22, they will punish us.”
Ackermann described Limerick as a tough place to play at. The Bulls have played at Thomond Park only twice: winning 16-13 in 2025 but losing 31-17 in 2022.
“The conditions are going to change quite drastically,” the Bulls coach said.
“We’ve had beautiful weather in Italy and it was around 24 or 25 degrees when we kicked off. Next it will probably be rainy and there will be a temperature drop.”
Bulls to improve for Munster
He said the Bulls would also need to “really improve” their scrumming after mixed results against Zebre.
“Then you’ve got the hostile crowd [in Limerick]. They lost, so they’re going to be really fired up. It’s a team that’s constantly in the play-offs and constantly near the top of this competition.
“They’re going to bring a totally different challenge. So we have to reset, recover from a long day of travel and get the boys ready to play.”