'Johan will do well at Bulls' – Foote hails Ackermann's impact at U20s

The Citizen

16 hours ago

Johan Ackermann's advisory role with the Junior Boks has come to a triumphant end, as he moves on to coaching the Bulls.
Junior Springbok coach Kevin Foote believes incoming Bulls head coach Johan Ackermann will produce the goods and lead the team to new heights, after his successful stint with the national U20 team which ended in World Championship glory.
The former Lions coach, who also coached in England and Japan over the past seven years, was brought into the Junior Bok setup late last year as a coaching consultant, lending his considerable experience to the junior side since.
The South African Rugby Union was reportedly so impressed by Ackermann's work that they had already asked him to consider staying on, but the lure of coaching one of the country's top franchise teams was too much and he accepted the Bulls' offer.
'He's a brilliant coach'
After the World Rugby U20 Championship final on Saturday, Foote was asked about the impact Ackermann had on the junior side's success, and he claimed that it was huge.
'I can't speak more highly about Johan Ackermann. He's a brilliant coach. He coaches so well technically, but he is also a cultural coach. He's so good for our environment, he knows when to smile, sometimes he's dancing, sometimes he's serious,' said Foote.
'He gets the balance right and I think the fitness and love he showed to our forward pack in particular and brought these guys up with Mushie (Junior Bok forwards coach Lumumba Currie) was fantastic.
'Johan is going to do very well at the Bulls. He's just a good person and good things happen to good people. So in my opinion Johan had a massive impact on our (successful) campaign.'
Stepping up to senior level
With the Junior Bok players having now arrived back in SA from the World Champs in Italy, it will be interesting to see how many of them will be able to make the step up into senior rugby going forward.
With the Currie Cup kicking off it will be a great chance for some of them to get some good experience, and the Bulls have already announced that five Junior Boks – Siphosethu Mnebelele, Jaco Grobbelaar, JJ Theron, Cheswill Jooste and Demitre Erasmus – are in their squad for the competition.
'I actually think quite a lot of them could make the step up. Once you put these guys in the right environment they will flourish,' said Foote.
'Riley (Norton, Junior Bok captain) as a case in point, he finished school last year, he plays in the tight five and he now captains us. He is still going to be with us next year.
'So I believe this is such a talented group and in the right environment they will kick on. I think you are going to see a lot of these names going forward for South African rugby and in the URC.'