On the eve of the Vodacom URC final at Croke Park, Johan Ackermann and Marcel Coetzee struck a balance between belief and realism, a Vodacom Bulls camp brimming with quiet confidence, but under no illusions about the size of the task ahead.
Facing a Leinster side widely regarded as the benchmark in European rugby, Ackermann was candid: this is both a privilege and a mountain to climb.
“It’s still a bit surreal,” the Vodacom Bulls coach admitted at Friday’s press conference. “It’s a privilege to play tomorrow, but it’s a massive challenge against one of the best teams, if not the best team, in this competition and in Europe.”
The Vodacom Bulls arrived in Dublin on the back of impressive victories over Munster and Glasgow, but Ackermann was quick to downplay any notion that momentum alone could carry them over the line.
Finals, he stressed, exist in their own ecosystem. “Whatever we did in the past is not going to count much. We have to be much more accurate, and we have to match Leinster’s intensity.”
In other words: no shortcuts, no comfort blankets.
Loftus trojan Ruan Nortje, who will run out in the light blue for the final time.
This is a one-day shootout.
Despite much pre-match chatter around Leinster’s front-row injuries, Ackermann refused to turn the Vodacom Bulls’ formidable scrum into a singular game plan.
Yes, they pride themselves on their set-piece. But leaning too heavily on it? That’s a trap.
“If you think things are just going to happen, you’ll get a wake-up call,” he said. “The scrum is only a small part of the game. There’s so much outside of that.”
It’s a telling sign of a coach wary of overplaying a perceived edge, especially against a Leinster system known for seamlessly producing replacements.
If Ackermann’s approach is measured, Coetzee’s leadership message is deeply human.
For the Vodacom Bulls captain, who has played across Europe and featured in major finals, Friday night at Croke Park ranks among the very best occasions of his career.
“It’ll be right up there, one of the best venues to play,” he said. “It’s a great occasion.”
But beyond tactics and occasion, Coetzee emphasised something simpler: perspective.
“Enjoy the moment, seize the opportunity and don’t look back.”
It’s a message shaped by past heartbreak in VURC finals, experience the Vodacom Bulls are determined to use, not relive.
Both coach and captain were emphatic: previous final defeats are not psychological scars.
They are lessons, nothing more.
“We don’t live in the past, but we do learn from it,” Coetzee said.
Those learnings are practical: start better, stay structured under pressure, take chances when they come.
Last year’s final, where Leinster’s fast start proved decisive, remains a clear reference point.
“They started very, very well, and that helped their momentum,” Coetzee recalled.
One subplot heading into the final is the form of flyhalf Handré Pollard, who endured an uncharacteristically off day from the tee in the semifinal.Inside the Vodacom Bulls camp, there is no panic.
“Every golfer’s got a bad round somewhere,” Ackermann quipped. “Hopefully he had his last week.”
Coetzee backed that up, highlighting Pollard’s broader influence beyond goal-kicking.
“We sometimes just focus on that main strength, but what he did in the game was brilliant.”
The expectation? A response on the biggest stage.
Emotion will also swirl around departing players like Ruan Nortjé, David Kriel, Kurt-Lee Arendse and Wilco Louw, whose contributions to the Vodacom Bulls will be honoured after the final.
But Ackermann was clear: sentiment cannot overshadow the job at hand. “Tomorrow is about the final and the 23 players,” he said. “Hopefully we can put in a performance that will make the jersey proud.”
Coetzee, speaking as Nortjé’s long-time roommate, painted a more personal picture, of a leader defined by humility, work ethic and selflessness.
“He’s a role model, the kind of person who puts the team above his own needs.”
Ackermann acknowledged that his side remains a work in progress, still blending styles and adapting to the demands of the VURC after his return from Europe.
But that evolution has brought them here , to a final, against the best.
“We’re still in a development process, but for now, we’re just happy to be in the final.”
If there is one thread running through the Bulls’ message, it is this: they are not burdened by history, nor intimidated by reputation.
They see opportunity.
“We don’t sit on a couch wondering what could have been,” Ackermann said. “We get this opportunity to play.”
On Friday night in Dublin, that mindset will be tested against a Leinster machine built for moments like these.
But the Vodacom Bulls, calm, battle-hardened, and quietly ambitious, are ready to find out just how far belief, discipline and a refusal to be overawed can take them.
