Confirmed: Ackermann retains coaches who served under Jake White
New Bulls coach Johan Ackermann has retained the assistant coaches who served under his predecessor, Jake White.
There was speculation whether the former Lions, Gloucester and Urayasu coach would shake things up at the Bulls after White's divisive final weeks at the Pretoria union, the assistant coaches' role in his removal, and the potential redundancy of forwards coach Andries Bekker.
Ackermann keeps Bekker under contract
The Bulls were the most successful union in South Africa under White, reaching three United Rugby Championship finals in the last four years. But after this season's final defeat to Leinster, White told media he simply could not beat the Irish side with the players he had.
It emerged that players and coaches were unhappy with White's leadership, which had a more top-down and autocratic style. Assistant coaches Chris Rossouw and Bekker in fact, led the way by taking players' grievances above White's head directly to the board, who mutually agreed to part ways with the coach last month.
It did not take the Bulls long to replace White. Ackermann wrapped up his time consulting the Junior Springboks with their World Rugby U20 Championship win and on the same day he arrived back in South Africa, paid Loftus a visit.
New Bulls boss brings a different approach
His own coaching career is also speckled with accolades (three times SA coach of the year, and one more in Japan) and defeats in tournament finals. But Ackermann brings a more unified and open approach to coaching. He told media in his first press conference that he wanted to hear the opinions of his players, but needed them to know that he was still in charge and they had to earn their places.
On Monday, the Bulls confirmed with The Citizen that Ackermann has opted to keep White's previous coaches under contract. This is especially important for Bekker, after Ackermann was expected to take a more hands-on approach with the forwards, where he has been instrumental in his previous teams.
He also said he will watch Phiwe Nomlomo coach the Bulls' Currie Cup side for a while before making suggestions about their tactics. Currently, the Bulls lead the Currie Cup log with 10 points from their first two games.
They smashed the Sharks 64–0 at Loftus on the weekend to follow up their 48-23 win against the Western Province in Cape Town the week before.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Citizen
3 hours ago
- The Citizen
Selection strategy key as Lions and Bulls stake claim as Currie Cup favourites
The Lions and Bulls are the only unbeaten teams in the Currie Cup after two rounds of action. The Lions and Bulls have both staked their claim to be considered favourites for the Currie Cup title, after two big wins on the opening two weekends of the competition. Of the country's 'big four', the two Highveld teams have gone with a different selection strategy to their coastal rivals and it looks to be paying off with both picking up bonus point wins to take an early lead on the Currie Cup log. The Lions started with two home games, and comfortably swatted aside the Sharks 46-5 and Western Province 40-19, while the Bulls opened their campaign in Cape Town with a 48-23 win over Western Province, before thrashing the Sharks 64-0 back at home over the past weekend. Both the Lions and the Bulls have loaded their Currie Cup squad with players who are largely considered backup to their United Rugby Championship (URC) team, while the Sharks and Western Province have mostly backed inexperienced youngsters for the competition. And that has made a notable difference in their fortunes based on the results over the first two weekends of action. In the past weekend's match the Lions' entire starting 15 were players who had featured regularly over the previous URC campaign, although none are considered regulr starters, while Western Province only had a handful of players with decent URC experience. International experience The Bulls also went with a strong lineup, boasting players with international experience such as Marvin Orie (Springboks) and Jaco van der Walt (Scotland), and a host of URC regulars, while the Sharks featured a few players with URC experience, and a large number without. It will be interesting to see which player strategy pays off when it comes to the start of the coming URC season, when a number of backup players will need to be utilised due to the unavailability of Springbok players, who will still be in international action. But in the Currie Cup, the Bulls, who sit top on 10 points, only ahead of the Lions on points difference, are currently the two teams to beat and with them now coming up against the other teams in the competition, we will gain a better understanding of where they truly stand. Of the other four teams it is hard to gauge if they will be able to challenge the top two, as they have all picked up one win, with the Kavaliers beating the Cheetahs, Pumas beating the Griquas, Cheetahs beating the Pumas and Griquas beating the Kavaliers over the first two weekends. The Bulls will now host the Pumas at Loftus on Saturday afternoon, while the Lions travel to Wellington to take on the entertaining Kavaliers in what should be another Sunday afternoon classic. The other two games see the Griquas up against Western Province in Kimberley on Friday, and the Sharks host the Cheetahs in Durban on Saturday.
IOL News
18 hours ago
- IOL News
Bulls try to remain grounded after flying start to Currie Cup campaign
Pumas coach Jimmy Stonehouse will relish the chance to rattle the high-flying Bulls as his side look to bounce back from their Cheetahs defeat. Photo: Backpagepix Image: Backpagepix Despite their rollicking start to the Currie Cup season, with two bonus-point wins, 112 points scored and only 23 conceded, the Bulls are wary of getting too far ahead of themselves at this early stage of the campaign. Last year's Currie Cup performance remains a stark reminder of the pitfalls of failing to maintain high standards throughout the tournament, after a similarly bright start ultimately yielded no silverware. It is a lesson not lost on Bulls assistant coach Kennedy Tsimba. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Next Stay Close ✕ 'This is just the first couple of steps in a campaign that has been looking promising, but we do know that each week brings its different challenges,' Tsimba said, at a media conference on Monday afternoon. 'It's about not getting ahead of yourself and understanding that there are teams that are going to give us different questions that we need to deal with. 'But I think the lesson we did learn from last year is that yes, you can play well, but it's about being able to perform at the right time — when you need to peak. As a team, we've got to navigate how we peak and be able to deal with the competition as it gets to the business end.' Tsimba expects the nuggety Pumas to ask the Bulls some uncomfortable questions in Sunday's home fixture. The side from Mpumalanga opened with a win over Griquas but fell to the Cheetahs this past weekend. 'They are an interesting team that will definitely bring a different challenge. There is a whole range of skills that are going to be on show,' he said. 'Whatever questions they ask of us, we've got to be able to execute the answers. And I think we're confident enough to handle that.
eNCA
18 hours ago
- eNCA
Lions hooker Sheehan banned over Lynagh incident
British and Irish Lions hooker Dan Sheehan has been suspended for four matches for flattening Wallabies playmaker Tom Lynagh in Saturday's third and final Test, World Rugby announced on Monday. The 26-year-old Irishman -- who captained the side for part of the 22-12 defeat after Maro Itoje suffered a head injury -- had argued his action did not merit a citing nor was it foul play. However, an independent panel disagreed, imposing the ban, although he will miss only three games if he successfully completes a coaching intervention. "The sanction has been accepted by the player," read the judgement. "In determining foul play, the Committee found that Sheehan's actions were reckless. "The Committee found that he made head contact with the Australian player, that his action amounted to a high degree of danger and that no mitigation applied." Sheehan charged into the breakdown during the first half of the clash in Sydney, appearing to elbow Lynagh in the head. It was missed by the referee and television match official (TMO), despite Lynagh leaving the field for a head injury assessment which he failed. Sheehan will miss his province Leinster's pre-season match against Cardiff and two United Rugby Championship games with South African sides the Sharks and Stormers.
