‘A dream come true,' says Johan Ackermann as he is appointed Bulls coach
'The Bulls are a club built on legacy and ambition and with Johan at the helm, we are confident our future will be shaped by excellence, resilience, and unity.
'This appointment marks an exciting new chapter for Bulls rugby and we are thrilled to welcome him home.'
The Bulls said Ackermann's 'journey through rugby is one of resilience, transformation and authority'.
'Born in Benoni in 1970, he forged a robust playing career as a lock and earned 13 Test caps for the Springboks between 1996 and 2007.
'His relentless physicality and grit made him a formidable presence and his appearance at age 37 crowned him the oldest debutant in Springbok history. '
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The Citizen
7 hours ago
- The Citizen
Springbok player ratings from 55-10 win against Georgia
A number of players in the Bok team stood tall, among them Edwill van der Merwe, Ruan Nortje and the debutants Marnus van der Merwe and Boan Venter. The Springboks beat Georgia 55-10 in a one-off Test in Mbombela on Saturday. The reigning world champions scored nine tries to the one by the visitors. The Boks are next in action in the Rugby Championship, which starts next month. Here are The Citizen's player ratings from the match in Mbombela, out of 10. Aphelele Fassi 7: The attacking fullback got few chances with ball in hand, but he played his part in Canan Moodie's try. He contested well in the air, but also made a few basic errors. Off in the 55th minute. Edwill van der Merwe 9: He scored two tries, both well-taken, and had a hand in Canan Moodie's try. Tackled well, contested strongly in the air, and chased kicks. Another excellent Bok performance. Canan Moodie 8: He had a few good runs, kicked and chased well on two occasions, tackled strongly and showed strength and power to score one of the Boks' tries. Definitely a 13 option going forward. Damian de Allende 8: Another all-action performance from the inside centre; he carried strongly, he cleaned rucks, he tackled hard and he kicked for position. He also charged down a clearance kick. Kurt-Lee Arendse 7: By no fault of his own, he had a fairly quiet game, but the action never really went his way. He chased kicks and tackled well, and also scored a try after some good play by RG Snyman and Grant Williams. Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu 6: He looked dangerous with ball in hand, kicked and collected well on one occasion, but a little all over the place. He missed several kicks at goal and also didn't kick well out of hand. Off in the 55th. Grant Williams 8: His first clearance kick was poor and resulted in Georgia's only try. But he broke the line brilliantly, which led to Moodie's try, and also made the long over-the-top pass for Edwill van der Merwe's one try, and played part in Arendse's try. Grant Williams enjoyed a very satisfying outing in Mbombela. Picture: Dirk Kotze/Gallo Images Cobus Wiese 6: The regular lock was asked to play out of position at eighthman and he did an okay job. He carried strongly on occasion and made a few tackles and cleans, but he knocked on badly on one occasion. Off in 44th. Pieter-Steph du Toit 8: He was back to his unbelievable best, working tirelessly throughout the match, making tackles and carrying hard, and cleaning rucks. He was literally everywhere on the field. Siya Kolisi 6: Took a blow to the head in the second minute and left the action, which might have influenced his game. Returned by making tackles and carrying on occasion, and got better and busier as the game went on. Ruan Nortje 9: He is yet to play poorly in a Bok jersey. He was, like Du Toit, involved in everything and was everywhere. He was the lineout banker, he assisted in Moodie's try, he tackled and cleaned and took kick offs. Brilliant in all respects. Eben Etzebeth 6: He was busy in the tight-loose play, he tackled well and carried and cleaned, and charged down a kick, but he wasn't the imposing figure he normally is. Left the action shortly after half-time. Neethling Fouche 7: He scrummed well on debut, forcing a number of penalties, he tackled on occasion and cleaned rucks. Left the action in the 44th minute; he would have hoped for a bit more game time. Marnus van der Merwe 9: The debutant hooker had a dream match and could be the next big thing at No 2. What a performance. His lineout throwing was spot on, he scored two tries and was busy all over the field. Marnus van der Merwe scores a try on debut. Picture: Johan Orton/Gallo Images Boan Venter 8: He was all-powerful at scrum time, winning a few penalties and getting his team on the front foot. He was busy in the tight-loose and also scored a good try. He will be a happy and satisfied man. Bench 8: The front row of Bongi Mbonambi, Thomas du Toit and Vincent Koch did their bit to keep the Bok scrum dominant, while RG Snyman's power runs and off-loading game came to the fore as the game opened up. Kwagga Smith was as busy as ever, he was excellent receiving kicks and carried and cleaned rucks regularly. Faf de Klerk added energy to the performance late on and chipped the ball into space for Edwill van der Merwe's second try, while Handre Pollard played a part in Damian Willemse's try, he kicked and collected a kick, and he scored himself in a calming, strong cameo late on. Willemse made a few errors, but he tackled nicely and will be pleased with his try.
The Citizen
7 hours ago
- The Citizen
Boks batter Georgia in tough Mbombela clash
The Springboks emerged as convincing victors from their final Castle Lager Incoming Series test of the year, against Georgia, at Mbombela Stadium on July 19. Saturday night's clash, while far from perfect for the Boks, presented them with a lot of success and the perfect way to finish off their three-match series. Determined to spoil the part in Mbombela, Georgia were first to rack up some points, crossing the whitewash within the first five minutes to take a surprise 7-0 lead. The Boks first drew blood through one of the three debutants in their front row, Boan Venter, who managed to score his first test try. Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu's conversion rebounded off the post to keep Georgia in the lead. While they struggled to find their feet early on, the Springboks ultimately kicked on and began asserting themselves on their opposition. Mbombela local and yet another debutant, Marnus van der Merwe, crashed over the line to enjoy a fine start to life as a test rugby player. Canan Moodie scored a try of his own before Georgia added three more points to their tally. Marnus' dream test debut continued, and he scored his second try of the game to round out the half and give the Boks a 22-10 lead at the break. It took only four minutes of play in the second half for the famous Bomb Squad to show their faces in front of a raucous Mbombela crowd. Edwill van der Merwe, who was excellent in the air throughout the game, scored the first try of the second period, which also went unconverted. Damian Willemse was next to cross the try line for the Boks, before things quietened down for most of the second half as the Georgians managed to disrupt much of the momentum the home side built. Edwill scored his second of the game, followed by a Handré Pollard conversion, to give the Boks a 41-10 lead. Kurt-Lee Arendse reached a special landmark with one minute to go, scoring his 20th Springbok try to notch up 100 points in the green and gold. The last say belonged to Pollard though, who scored a try of his own and converted it to wrap the game up in a neat bow that saw the Boks emerge 55-10 victors. The game was far from easy for the Springboks, especially up front, as true to their nature the Georgians fought hard from the first whistle to the last. They ensured the home side felt their presence, be it through tough scrummaging or hard tackles that sent a good few Springboks back in their stride. While the scoreline shines favourably on the Boks, the game was far from perfect and there are a good few lessons to be learnt before they take on Argentina, Australia and New Zealand in The Rugby Championship. At Caxton, we employ humans to generate daily fresh news, not AI intervention. Happy reading!
The Citizen
7 hours ago
- The Citizen
Springboks want to stack up positives after Georgian win
The Springboks put in a a mixed performance but still had enough power to cruise to a 55-10 win over Georgia in Mbombela. Loose forward Pieter-Steph du Toit and lock Ruan Nortje in action for the Springboks against Georgia in Mbombela on Saturday night. Picture: Anton Geyser/Gallo Images Springbok captain Siya Kolisi said that his side weren't completely satisfied with their performance, despite picking up a big 55-10 win over Georgia in their one-off Test at the Mbombela Stadium on Saturday. The Boks got off to a slow start, with the visitors scoring the first try, before the hosts battled back to lead 22-10 at halftime and then powered away with a further five tries in the second half to cruise over the 50 point mark. Speaking after the game Kolisi admitted that they weren't able put enough consecutive positive plays together, which stemmed their flow and led to a difficult first half effort, before improving after the break which allowed them to open up a bit more. 'It was a tough game, credit to the Georgians, they came hard in the first half. Physically they matched us most of the time, and we struggled at the breakdown, they were quite dominant there. So we were happy with the way we cleaned up in the second half,' said Kolisi. 'The problem was we weren't able to produce enough positives one after the other. We did something good and then we would make a mistake, so that slowed down our momentum. 'The game was also a bit slow, and was very stop-start. But hopefully we can fix our problems and make sure that we build on our positives going forward.' Competition for places It was a rookie front row that turned out for the Boks in the match, with props Boan Venter, Neethling Fouche and hooker Marnus van der Merwe all making their official debuts for the national team, and they produced a solid effort first up, impressing in the scrums, while also making a few mistakes in general play. Edwill van der Merwe (third cap), and Cobus Wiese (second cap) were also given valuable game time, and Kolisi said the competition in the squad is great and is keeping the more experienced players on their toes. 'I am happy for them (debutants). Congratulations to them and their families. The coach is building squad depth while we are winning, and you can see the amount of competition in the group. The guys (who played) last week set the standard,' explained Kolisi. 'I think in the first half here we didn't live up to that standard and had to pick it up in the second half. So competition is tight and everyone who gets an opportunity has got to take it. But that's what keeps the squad fresh and on their toes.' Lock Ruan Nortje is also growing game by game, with this his eighth appearance for the Boks, and he produced a fantastic effort against the Georgians, which saw him named man-of-the-match. 'It is always special to play in Mbombela, the supporters are amazing. Credit to Georgia for bringing it tonight. We knew they are a physical team and rising in the ranks, so it was an awesome challenge against them,' said Nortje.
