{"id":267628,"date":"2025-07-22T13:33:58","date_gmt":"2025-07-22T11:33:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/peexpress\/its-personal-ackermann-says-of-vodacom-bulls-job\/"},"modified":"2025-07-22T14:09:32","modified_gmt":"2025-07-22T12:09:32","slug":"its-personal-ackermann-says-of-vodacom-bulls-job","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/peexpress\/its-personal-ackermann-says-of-vodacom-bulls-job\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018It\u2019s personal\u2019 Ackermann says of Vodacom Bulls job"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This is personal. That\u2019s the clear message from Johan Ackermann, the new head coach of the Vodacom Bulls. Ackermann recently took over the reigns from outgoing coach, Jake White.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s as personal as his memories of playing Carlton League rugby with Vodacom Bulls legends in the Police Rugby Club \u2013 or the Bobbies as they\u2019ve always been known in Pretoria \u2013 on bitterly cold winter nights. Of running up and down the Loftus Versfeld stadium stairs for training while playing for this team. Or running out the tunnel at Loftus wearing a Springbok jersey for the first time.
\u00a0
But mostly, it\u2019s the memories of what rugby means to the people of the capital city, and what the Vodacom Bulls mean to their fans \u2013 from the big-name city schools to smaller rural schools, and from homes in Pretoria to farms in Polokwane.
\u00a0
\u201cIt\u2019s massive. It\u2019s personal. It\u2019s hard to put into words how the rugby culture in Pretoria and around the Vodacom Bulls is just so different to anywhere else. It\u2019s a privilege to be back in this rich culture of rugby. The Vodacom Bulls give people something that they can go back to work on a Monday and be proud of,\u201d says Ackermann.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Home
One of South Africa’s iconic rugby stadiums, Loftus Versfeld, will now be home to new Vodacom Bulls coach, Johan Ackerm\u00e1nn, and he won’t be taking the job lying down.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Ackermann\u2019s deep understanding of the culture of this team is one of the biggest attributes that he brings to the role of head coach. It will blend well with his own highly-regarded ability to develop culture within any team where he has worked.
\u00a0
\u201cI have a simple philosophy of treating people the way I like to be treated. That\u2019s my foundation. For me as a coach, it\u2019s about finding out how each player likes to be communicated to. Maybe I was fortunate that in my playing career I experienced a lot. I experienced being injured, not being selected, the highs of being selected. So I try to feel the joy and the sorrow or the pain of that player, because I\u2019ve experienced it. And when we\u2019re on the field we work hard, but off the field we have to have fun.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When it comes to the players, there is no doubt in Ackermann\u2019s mind that this Vodacom Bulls team already has all the talent it needs to convert three Vodacom United Rugby Championship final appearances into a trophy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00a0\u201cThis team has talent and I believe we can play any style of rugby we want. We can play the traditional Vodacom Bulls style and be physical and have good set pieces, but we also have the quality to attack and play all the spaces that the opposition gives us. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“My philosophy is to play an exciting and attacking brand of rugby and be positive and score tries. And we have to acknowledge that what the Vodacom Bulls have been doing must work. They\u2019ve beaten good sides and reached playoffs. I do feel there were moments where I would probably want to change a few things tactically, and once I get the use of the players and understand our strengths as a team, you can then bring your own flavour in. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“This has been a quality performing team for the last few years already, so that is a challenge for me to make sure we keep performing with the quality of this squad.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Blue
New Bulls coach, Johan Ackermann, says his challenge now is to make sure the Bulls continue with their quality performances.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

As for finding the final piece to the trophy puzzle, Ackermann says he\u2019ll first look where he always does when starting with a team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00a0\u201cIf something is not quite clicking, then I normally look at the team\u2019s values. If as a team you\u2019ve put out certain values at the beginning of the season and one of those is not going well, then it will reflect on the field. It\u2019s not about chasing the outcome or the result or the position on the log. It\u2019s about looking and seeing if there is something small we\u2019re not doing as a team. Finals are such small margins, and I\u2019ve experienced losing finals. It\u2019s very difficult to judge the outcome of a final from the outside if you haven\u2019t been involved in that week\u2019s preparation with the team for the game. Then from a tactical point of view it’s about going back to the principles of the game and seeing what we\u2019re missing. It\u2019s about what we control now \u2013 the next training session, the next scrum, the next breakdown.\u201d
\u00a0
There will be the challenge of managing this squad across various competitions, as is the norm for the modern-day coach. There will be the challenge of the always high expectations on this team. But it\u2019s exactly these pressures that Ackermann believes is the privilege of the Vodacom Bulls and the standards this team has always set.
\u00a0
\u201cThe expectation is high and it brings a different pressure on this position. You can feel there\u2019s not a lot of room for error. But I can only be myself and enjoy this, and through that we can keep that standard going.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This is personal. 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