Johan Ackermann has experienced every side of the Jukskei Derby — as a player and coach for both the Vodacom Bulls and the Lions. Now returning to Ellis Park for the first time since leaving the Lions, he’s aiming to add a new chapter: a derby win with the Vodacom Bulls.
Ackermann has such a compelling history in this Vodacom United Rugby Championship fixture which has captivated South African rugby fans for generations. He understands it from the inside out. He knows what it feels like to walk across from Loftus Versfeld to Ellis Park as a player and trade the blue for the red. And he knows what that does in the mind of the players, and how it combines to create one of the great club derbies in world rugby.
“You know, in our rugby history these two unions split from each other and it’s always been a case of who the bigger brother is. Then you had players from the Vodacom Bulls going over to the Lions in those days like Uli Schmidt, Jannie Breedt, Hannes Strydom and myself. Then when I coached there I brought a bunch of Vodacom Bulls players like Rohan Janse van Rensburg, Franco Mostert and others from the Vodacom Bulls. They always had a point to prove against their old team, and I think that’s why the derby grew like it has. We’re basically neighbours. Many of the Lions players live in Pretoria. So that’s what makes this fixture so special,” says Ackermann.
And he admits that it will be strange to head back to Ellis Park on Saturday on the other side of this fixture in what was his old stomping ground, and seeing a number of familiar faces.
“As a player you play for the Vodacom Bulls and then later for the Lions and that was an experience as you suddenly move to the other camp. Then as a coach at the Lions it was always a big challenge to coach against the Vodacom Bulls at Ellis Park or at Loftus Versfeld. And now, after a long time out of South Africa, I’m back and coaching the Vodacom Bulls. A couple of months ago it was so strange to come up against the Lions at Loftus because that was my last South African team I coached. A player like Julian Redelinghuys, who I coached at the Lions, is now a coach himself. And Ivan van Rooyen was my head of Strength and Conditioning when I was head coach at the Lions, and now he’s the head coach. Their manager is still the same, their kit man is still the same, the doctor is the same. So there are a few people who brought back some good memories. Obviously the result wasn’t what I wanted in my first derby against my old team. This will now be the first time I’ll be back at Ellis Park since I coached there, so it will be quite an experience to be on the other side.”
Ackermann knows exactly what to expect from the Lions and Van Rooyen, because he was the one who instilled that blueprint in the Johannesburg team.
“The DNA of the Lions of being a running team is still there, so I expect them to play a fast game at Ellis Park because it was always one of our go-to strategies when I coached there. I think it will be an entertaining game.”
And he knows what to expect from his opposite number in the coach’s box as well.
“Ivan was one of the world’s best Strength and Conditioning coaches and I had so much faith in him. He is also a wise man. He is very calm. When we worked together, I always enjoyed talking to him if there was something in the back of my mind and I felt I needed an outside opinion that wasn’t necessarily another coach’s opinion. He was always a good voice for me to test things. He knows the game well and has a very calm head on him. I’ve seen how he’s taken that into his coaching as well.
“He has been through tough times with his team and we all experience it. When you become a head coach it takes time to establish your culture and the way you want to run things. He inherited a team after me and Swys de Bruin that did well. Then there were big changes with players leaving. But as a player you take a little bit of every coach that you experience and put your own flavour on it when you become a coach. He has done that very well.”
But Ackermann will certainly not dwell too long in the sentiment of the occasion as he looks to build on some good international momentum from his team with a strong statement in a good old fashioned South African grudge match.
“The big South African derbies are still the crowd pleasers. I think it’s just because it’s such a part of our DNA. There has always been big loyalty to your local team. If there are no Tests you always get your top South African players competing, so the fans know there will be massive clashes and individual battles, and that collectively the teams are at their strongest. That puts it as close as possible to Test match rugby.
“For us as a team, I’d obviously have wanted us to be in a better position in the VURC. We had a tough phase and we’re not necessarily out of it yet. But I can feel the confidence is back. When somebody takes over there is always a change in culture, and it’s about finding each other and that’s going to take time. It’s been an adjustment for me as well. You have your Springbok players that are away and not preparing with you for the first couple of VURC games. Then they come back after five Tests and they have to be managed with compulsory rest periods. Then you have injured players. So continuity and consistency are ongoing challenges. But tough times reveal a lot about a group. I know winning is important, but for me there’s a bigger picture. It’s about who we are as a team, how we treat each other, what our values are and what we stand for as men – that’s what we’re trying to put in place as much as a performance on the field.”
Ackermann believes in overcoming the impossible.
He’s seen enough of it in the game, and in his own life, to know a cause is never hopeless.
And he’s seeing the spark of something now coming together at the Vodacom Bulls that tells him they’re on the right track.
“I can see the growth in this team, and the Vodacom United Rugby Championship has shown us that nothing is impossible. We saw Munster in 2023 having to play their quarters, semis and final away, and they did it and went on to win.”
Ellis Park has certainly seen some magical moments in the game as well, many of which Ackermann had a front-row seat to. On Saturday, he’s hoping to add another chapter to his own remarkable Jukskei Derby story.
Issued by Michael Vlismas Media
