Ackers backs Lions pack
FORMER COACH: THEIR FORWARDS BEST EQUIPPED TO HANDLE CRUSADERS
Self-belief crucial for Joburg’s Pride in Super Rugby final.
The Lions pack are probably the best suited in the entire Super Rugby competition to take on the Crusaders on level terms, believes astute former Lions coach Johan Ackermann.
Ackermann, who coached the Lions to their past two losing finals before joining Gloucester, believes that in this weekend’s final in Christchurch, the Lions could push the Crusaders out of their comfort zone.
“We fought back well last year after a red card and what a wonderful tale it would be if the Lions could go on and beat the Crusaders on their own turf after they did it last year to us,” he said.
Ackermann thought their chances were good. “They will have a lot of self-belief, they know what it takes to play in a final.
“If you look at the Lions pack who played such good rugby over the last few weeks, then I think the Lions are in with a shot.
“There’s no reason if one looks at the teams on paper. The Lions are the one team who can stand up to the Crusaders,” he said.
While the Crusaders have stars like All Black captain Kieran Read and Sam Whitelock in their pack, the Lions also have some hard men in hooker Malcolm Marx and lock Franco Mostert.
“I won’t say we owe them one because they beat us last year, I just think the Lions need no extra motivation because nobody will give them a chance. They have nothing to lose,” Ackermann said.
“So they can just go out and express themselves and put the Crusaders under pressure and just be themselves.
“They also don’t have a lot of injuries which is great, whereas it sounds like the Crusaders have picked up a few niggles.”
Ackermann said if the Lions truly believe mentally they can shock the defending champions, the battle is half won.
“But if they are going to be bothered by the stories that they can’t win there then it’s already in your head,” he said.
“And they showed when they trailed 14-0 against the Waratahs how strong their character is.
“It was my prediction that the Crusaders would bury the Hurricanes up front, and that’s what happened.”
Ackermann said the reasons why he thought the Lions stood a very good chance is not based on the fact that he is probably biased.
“If you look at the balance of the side, the experience they have, the track record in New Zealand, on average the last few years were good and I think the team are looking forward to playing against them,” he said.
In the immediate aftermath of Johan Ackermann and Swys de Bruin going their separate ways after their formidable partnership that served the Ellis Park faithful so well over the years, things were not looking all that rosy for De Bruin.
At that stage, the new Lions coach had to foot the bill for a serious tactical blunder in their Currie Cup semifinal at Newlands when they took down a stupidly strong forwards pack but instead of scrumming their way to a win tried to play cat-and-mouse with team selections and ill-timed substitutions. Needless to say, they failed to advance to the final after doing very well just to reach the play-offs after their Super Rugby and Currie Cup campaigns over- lapped by three full weeks.
Up north Ackers was the happier man at Gloucester. He took to the switch like a duck to water despite giving up his comfortable surrounds and his new team were occupying a play-off position on the Premiership table for most of the early parts of the season.
That set of circumstances even prompted this column to ask the question who the real brains behind the Lions juggernaut was after listening to speculation over the years that Ackers brought man-management to their former partnership, whereas De Bruin was believed to be the mastermind of the rugby tactics.
Well a lot has happened since then and it will only be fair to reassess the situation.
Ackermann’s charges faded during the latter part of their campaign, signing off in seventh place out of 12 teams. Gloucester also missed the opportunity to finish the season with silverware by losing the European Challenge Cup – the second-tier continental competition – against the Cardiff Blues. But, in Ackermann’s defence, his team did qualify for next season’s top-tier competition – the Champions Cup – through a fortunate set of events and ensured his reputation stays intact.
And down south De Bruin’s stock has risen tremendously at the back end of a very topsy-turvy Super Rugby season. Just like that, the Lions find themselves back in the final and again have a chance to etch their names in South African rugby folklore.
Yes, the Brumbies did do the Lions a massive favour by beating the Waratahs in their final roundrobin fixture which paved the way for Joburg’s Pride to host a home semifinal.
But, last season it was the Hurricanes that did the Lions a big favour by beating the Crusaders right at the end of the group stage to clear the way for the Johannesburg franchise to host the final.
At the end of the day, De Bruin has proved his worth outside Ackers’ shadow and the latter has showed he can cope just fine without his former right-hand man.
Yes, you could argue that De Bruin’s transition was probably easier staying in the familiar surrounds of Doornfontein than was the case with Ackers packing for a foreign land, but it was anything but plain sailing for Ackers’ former assistant. He had to overcome serious personnel issues with injuries to key players at various times during the season, resulting in changes to their game plan and an unusually big number of losses compared to previous seasons.
But none of that will matter if they do the unthinkable in Christchurch. Maybe that’s the only way De Bruin can distance himself from Ackers for once and for all.