Vodacom Bulls coach Johan Ackermann has a simple wish list ahead of Friday’s pre-season derby against archrivals the DHL Stormers in Paarl, and top of it is not a scoreline.
“It’s not that we want to go out there and damage each other,” Ackermann said, only half joking about a fixture that rarely needs extra needle. “First and foremost, hopefully getting through 80 minutes with no injuries, that would be the top priority.”
Beyond survival, Ackermann wants answers. “Second, seeing where we are, from our lineouts right through to our general play and attack, getting a good read on how the things we’ve worked on are translating,” he said. “Also getting some proper contact conditioning in.”
The Vodacom Bulls boss knows exactly how this one will be read by the outside world regardless of what he says on the touchline beforehand. “I know people will look at the result and draw conclusions, if we win it’s [going to be] a good year, if we lose it’s going to be a long season, but that’s definitely not one of our goals.”
Pre-season itself has been a careful build, Ackermann explained, after a deliberate wind-down following last season’s Vodacom URC. “We backed off a little after, gave the guys another week off, then built them back up, so the last two or three weeks have been good training-wise,” he said. “We’re happy, though we could have done a bit more. We’re still not quite there, but the boys have put in a lot of effort, which is pleasing.”
That effort now needs a genuine examination, something training alone cannot provide. “Things always look nice in training because your teammate knows what’s coming, so you don’t get a true picture until you try it against different opposition,” he said.
Against the Stormers, there will be nowhere to hide. “It’s two things really, seeing where we are, and giving everyone game time.”
Selection, he warned, is very much still up for grabs, and Paarl offers a shop window for anyone hoping to force his hand. “We’re still very much in the process of selecting a team, nobody is guaranteed a position, so this is also an opportunity for players to put their hands up. Mostly, though, it’s about getting a game under our belt and testing a few combinations and strategies.”
The Vodacom Bulls head into the clash having shed experience over the off-season, with key men like Ruan Nortje and David Kriel lured overseas, but Ackermann is bullish about the calibre of the reinforcements.
“We’re losing a bit of experience and team cohesion, that’s the reality, it’s part of the game we’re in,” he admitted. “But the new players who’ve come in have slotted in really well, quality people who bring a different kind of experience.”
He singled several nnew arrivals. “A player like Hanro Liebenberg has played in the Premiership and Champions Cup, another, Thaakir Abrahams, has experience with Munster. And Curwin Bosch has played in France. So we’re excited about the new players.”
There is also the perennial Vodacom Bulls headache of losing a chunk of the squad to Springbok duty mid-season, something Ackermann has learned to live with rather than fight. “Every South African team is in the same boat, but yes, it’s disruptive, purely from wanting everybody in team meetings and training together to build the best possible cohesion and culture,” he said. “Even if you’ve got many players away with the Springboks, you won’t have them until a certain date. We have to deal with that.”
He is banking on the character of his group to smooth the transition when the internationals return. “Those players are quality enough that they slot back in fairly easily when they return. The character of the players we have is that they’re team guys who come back and fit straight in.”
Ackermann’s international players will return with heavy legs and heavier bodies after four brutal Tests against a New Zealand side that pushed the world champions all the way, and managing that fatigue while still blending them back into a settled Vodacom Bulls unit is exactly the balancing act he has been describing. It is a reminder of just how demanding the South African rugby calendar has become, with provincial coaches like Ackermann forced to build competitive squads capable of winning without their biggest stars, only to then reintegrate those same players straight off the back of Test rugby’s most gruelling assignment.
Looking further down the road, Ackermann is also bracing for a brutal opening to the Vodacom URC season away from home against Zebre and Munster, both expected to field full-strength international line-ups.
“Zebre are interesting because they’ve changed captains and made big changes to their squad,” he said. “In round one everybody is still in the running, so everybody is fired up, which makes them dangerous. I’ve played against them before with other teams and we needed the full 80 minutes to get the win there, you don’t just turn up and take it.”
Munster, he added, will be no easier. “It’s going to be a massive challenge, Limerick is probably one of the most hostile places you can play. We’re looking forward to the challenge.”
On the improved planning behind this campaign compared to last season’s late, chaotic start, Ackermann was candid about where the group stands. “I think we’re in a better place than last season in terms of planning and putting things in place,” he said. “This time round, aside from a few new players, everyone knows exactly what’s coming, and we’re trying to build on what we installed last season.
“On the fitness side, if I’m brutally honest, the All Blacks fixture disrupted that a little, we had to come back from the break and get straight into rugby. In an ideal world we’d have had more time to build our conditioning foundation, so it wasn’t quite the pre-season I’d hoped for in that respect, but I’m confident the players are in a better place than they were last season.
Looming behind this weekend’s friendly derby is a bigger prize, another crack at silverware after last season’s final heartbreak, and the weight of expectation that comes with coaching in Pretoria. “There’s no doubt that puts pressure on us, and that is the expectation,” Ackermann said. “It wasn’t nice losing that Vodacom URC final, but we took the lessons from it. There are probably 16 teams or so currently believing they can win it, and we’re just one of those teams with that dream. The reality is it will take a lot of hard work and commitment, and we can only control our next opportunity.”
For now though, Paarl is the target, and a coach demanding only that his squad walks off the field standing up, sharper, and a little wiser about where his team really stands.
