Vodacom Bulls coach Johan Ackermann hailed the impact of Johan Grobbelaar and Elrigh Louw off the bench against the All Blacks on Saturday night.
The two Springboks were late additions to the Bulls’ match 23 for the 50-19 defeat at Loftus Versfeld after being released by the national team to get game time ahead of the first Test of the Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series at Ellis Park next Saturday.
Grobbelaar and Louw had travelled back from Argentina with the Boks and joined the Bulls having had just one training session with Ackermann’s team.
Both players ran out for the second half after the Bulls had gone into the break 24-0 down.
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“Obviously, I think it’s great for them to have a taste of the All Blacks and feel that on the field. They now can take that knowledge back to the Boks,” Ackermann said.
“When they were [made] available, it’s great for us as a team, but it’s also our obligation to serve SA Rugby, to make sure they get that extra game time if they can.
“Credit to Grobbies and Elrigh. They both made a difference in that second half.
“If you look just at Grobbies, if you had to put a pin on him and follow him, the work rate he got through and the metres he covered …
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“They had one training [session], but they made the effort to get all the knowledge and get everything done.
“We went in with a very basic plan. We just wanted to say, ‘Can we keep to that plan and see where it takes us, even if there are mistakes?’
“And that’s the great thing. We actually were better in that in the second half than the first half when we were fresh.
“Credit to them. They really did well.”
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Accommodating the Bok duo came at a cost, with hooker Jaundré Schoeman and loose forward Mpilo Gumede dropping out of the Bulls’ original match 23 and potentially missing a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to face the All Blacks.
Ackermann admitted telling the pair they would no longer be involved had been a difficult conversation.
“There was no easy way around it. I just shared that with the players on Friday morning, as honestly as I could, that unfortunately two players must miss out.
“But there was no easy way because you want to help the Springbok guys to have a shot to get into the Test [team] but you also feel for the guys who are missing out.”
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Photo: Sydney Seshibedi/Gallo Images
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