Ackermann: I want to wear the Red Rose
Daniel Gallan speaks to Ruan Ackermann about life at Kingsholm following dad Johan’s departure, and Test ambitions
From the time he first picked up a rugby ball, Ruan Ackermann wanted to be a Springbok. His father Johan played 13 Tests for South Africa and offered a tangible vision of his own future.
Raised in Pretoria, the younger Ackermann has built his world views on the bedrock of Afrikaans conservatism that places a high value in work ethic, discipline and a burning desire to don the leaping antelope at the highest level.
It therefore surprises even himself when he admits that his head has been turned. Now his ambitions lie elsewhere.
“My goal is to play Test rugby for England,” Ackermann tells The Rugby Paper. “It’s funny how life works out. Growing up I would never have thought I’d say those words let alone think them.
“South Africa will always be in my heart but I have never had any talks with anyone from that side. At some point you have to be realistic as a player and do what’s best for you. England is one of the top teams in the world and have been for a while now. It would be an honour to wear the Red Rose.”
Ackermann turned 25 on December 29. He stands 6ft 4in and tips the scales at 17st 1lb (109kg). He offers an option in the lineout, contributes at the breakdown, provides go-forward with ball in hand and is aggressive in defence. He has all the raw ingredients required for elite level rugby at flank or No.8. Unfortunately for him, players of his ilk are ubiquitous in South Africa.
The production line that is high school rugby in the Republic ceaselessly churns out world class loose forwards.
“This is why I joined Gloucester,” Ackermann says. “I wanted to make sure I got here under the three year qualification for England and they were the first club to offer me a chance. It’s worked out. It’s now been four years. I’ve loved my time here.”
Ackermann has worn the green and gold before– he was part of the South Africa ‘A’ side that took on the French Barbarians in June 2017 prior to his move to the West Country.
“Even then I dreamed of taking the step up,” Ackermann says. “It wasn’t to be.”
His father replaced David Humphreys as Gloucester’s director of rugby two months later. One of his first acts was to sign his son who he had worked with at the Lions over two Super Rugby campaigns that both ended in final defeats to New Zealand opposition.
“I felt like I’d gone as far as I could with the Lions,” says Ackermann, one of several high profile players including Faf de Klerk and Rohan Janse van Rensburg, both at Sale, who left the Johannesburgbased franchise around that time. “A lot of us felt that way. I was looking for a change and a new opportunity.”
There were other factors that influenced his decision that had little to do with rugby. In January this year, Ackermann, along with his brother, Tiaan, and a family friend were robbed at gunpoint while sitting in their car at a traffic light in Pretoria. With cold metal pressed to their heads and violent threats ringing in their ears, the trio were forced to hand over their phones, iPads and watches. That they drove away was a small mercy in a country where around 58 people are murdered every day.
“I get little flashbacks still but mostly I’m OK,” Ackermann says. “What that incident has done is remind me why I left South Africa. It is obviously much safer here. I have a great life in Gloucester.”
Ackermann conveys a feeling that many South African expats will relate to on some level. It has no official name but could be termed the ‘Ambassador Paradox’: “On the one hand, I am so conscious not to bad mouth South Africa,” Ackermann says, “because I love my country and I’m proud of my culture. But on the other hand it’s important to talk about it honestly. There are many problems and I wasn’t fully aware of them until I lived abroad.”
He says he was judgmental of people who spent working hours in parks or milling about high streets around Kingsholm Stadium. He assumed they were either jobless or lazy: “It took a while for me to realise that this is normal and what life should be like. In South Africa, especially where I lived, very few people were so exposed (to danger).”
It’s not just the quality of life that has seen him lay deep roots in Gloucester. It’s a rugby town, one of the few in England where the oval ball reigns supreme. “It’s like home in that sense,” Ackermann says. “I so appreciate representing a town that values what I do, that loves the game as much as I do.”
On the field, Ackermann has become a mainstay. In 2018 he was nominated for the Discovery Award for best new player after scoring three tries in his debut season and has since gone on to play 50 Premiership games. Now without his father, who became head coach of the Japanese side the Red Hurricanes in June, he is standing proud on his own terms.
“I believe my best years are ahead of me and I’m very confident in my own game,” he says. “We haven’t started well (with one win from three Premiership games as well as a heavy defeat to Lyon in France) but we know that when things click we have a squad that can entertain as well as compete.”
That squad is now without Danny Cipriani who shocked the rugby world by announcing his departure last week.
“It was a shock to us too,” Ackermann says. “We didn’t see it coming. It was a pleasure spending time with him. I’d heard about him before I arrived but always wondered what the fuss was about because he hadn’t played a lot of Tests. I could tell from the first time I trained with him what a talent he is. I wondered why he hadn’t played more for England and I started hearing stories. He’s had difficulties most of us can’t understand. He also keeps to himself and I never knew how to approach him. I wish him all the best.”
Ackermann knows what it feels like to stand alone. When rugby returned after the coronavirus break last season, players were given the choice to kneel before kick-off in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement. While all his teammates obliged, Ackermann remained standing.
“I got a lot of criticism for it,” he says. “People accused me of being a racist. Even South Africa’s Minister of Sport got involved. It’s frustrating because I can’t explain myself to everyone. It’s simple. I’m a Christian and was raised never to bow for anyone or anything other than our lord Jesus Christ. I’ve had long chats with (Gloucester prop) Jamal FordRobinson about it and he understands where I am coming from. As long as those close to me know what I feel I can keep the noise out.”
Ackermann’s tone lifts when talk turns to the upcoming Lions tour against his countrymen: “The last one was incredible. For me it was bigger than the 2010 soccer World Cup. There are so many memories. The Jacque Fourie try. The Bryan Habana try. The Morne Steyn kick to win the game. Bakkies Botha cleaning out Adam Jones. It was massive.
“When the games ended I’d immediately grab my ball and play mini games in the garden. I’ve always wanted to be involved in a Lions tour and if I work hard enough I am confident I can achieve that goal. But it’s funny how life works out, hey? I might one day be wearing red instead of green.”
“My goal is to play for England. It would be an honour to wear the Red Rose”