English
Indian
العربية
Español
Deutsch
Türkçe
Русский
Français (Afrique)
How Johan Ackermann recharged the champion-seeking Bulls
Johan Ackermann this season refused to concede defeat, even in the darkest post-match press conferences, be it in the Investec Champions Cup or the URC. He publicly never berated, blamed, or excused his players.
How Johan Ackermann recharged the champion-seeking Bulls
Ackermann spoke of simple values: unity, desire, respect and care; not for a jersey but for each other.
‘Look after your mate and he looks after you,’ would be an accurate summary of his messaging. Scramble on defence, work back on defence, work off the ball and effort over the ball. Those are elements that define quality rugby teams. sport-tr.bet
If his players were doing this consistently, the jersey would be in a good place.
The closest Ackermann came to publicly involving his players in a media discussion was in response to a question about how hardened Springboks could have such a soft belly when playing for the Bulls.
He acknowledged the question and agreed that players who were exceptional for the Boks were not showing that application for the Bulls, but stated it was something for him to fix in-house, privately and away from cameras and microphones.
The response was telling in the backend of the season. The Bulls, with those hardened World Cup-winning Springboks leading the charge, fronted every challenge and refused to ever again wave a white flag.
A group of players, whose defensive generosity included conceding 46 points against Bordeaux at Loftus, 60 against Bristol’s Bears at Loftus and 43 against the Lions at Loftus, found their soul after seven successive defeats in all competitions.
The Bulls, heroic in a last 16 Champions Cup defeat to Glasgow’s Warriors, knew that with just three wins from their first eight URC league matches, they would always be in play-off mode for their remaining 10 matches.
The response was remarkable.
They lost just one of those 10 URC matches, in the north v south derby at Loftus to the Stormers and found glory in desperation by winning two league matches overseas by two points respectively against Edinburgh and the Scarlets.
They dazzled in attack at home, but on the road they showed as much appetite for making tackles as they did for attacking from transitional play.
Ruan Nortje and Marcell Coetzee, in the pack, led through action and Handre Pollard, a double World Cup winner with the Springboks, took command at No 10.
Individually, Embrose Papier sizzled in a league season that won him the South African Player of the Year, but it was the mentality to refuse to lose that got the Bulls through an away semi-final against Glasgow’s Warriors.
The Scottish club had beaten them 21-12 in the league match in Glasgow, beaten them again in the Champions Cup last 16 in Glasgow and, having finished the league season in first place, were favoured to make it three in a row at Murrayfield.
The Bulls, 21-3 down and with Pollard and Nortje sin-binned in this period, trusted, played for, and scrambled for each other to stay in the fight and ultimately dominate the fight to win by a point.
Willie le Roux, who passed 400 professional appearances a month ago, reminded the naysayers of his class, Pollard played with enthusiasm and a smile that screamed enjoyment; and Coetzee and Nortje showed disregard for their bodies in how they carried and hit rucks.
The likes of Papier, Kurt-Lee Arendse, Johan Grobbelaar and Cameron Hanekom flourished and scored some spectacular tries, but it was never the attack that won the Bulls 11 of their last 12 URC matches, including the quarter-final and final.
It was their defence and the turnovers forced by Marco van Staden, Grobbelaar, Hanekom and Jeandré Rudolph.
The steel provided by Harold Vorster and Canan Moodie in the midfield was telling, as was the tight five’s work rate outside of their obvious scrumming dominance.
It was the belief of a team in each other and their refusal to disappoint each other that got them to Dublin for next Friday’s URC Grand Final.
*Mark Keohane writes a weekly rugby column ‘Keo Uncut’ for the Sunday Times and Times Live
Davids sounds Barbarians warning
Springbok assistant coach Deon Davids says it would be dangerous to lean into the favourites tag going into Saturday’s clash against the Barbarians in Gqeberha.
While the Baa-Baas – who lost 54-7 to the Boks in Cape Town last year – traditionally have little time to prepare together, Davids says their unique identity and abundance of world-class talent make them a threat capable of troubling any international side.
“With the Barbarians, you have to understand their background, the way their squad is put together, and you cannot underestimate them because they are a bunch of experienced players, many of them with X factor, so you don’t want them to get on a roll,” said Davids on Monday.
WIN double tickets to Boks vs Barbarians!
Davids expects the visitors – coached by Scott Robertson and Felipe Contepomi – to stay true to the attacking philosophy that has defined the Baa-Baas for generations.
“The Barbarians have a unique dynamic that goes back decades – they like to entertain, which is encouraged by clever coaches who pick players who can do just that.
“Because they don’t have much time to prepare as a group, they stick to a style that has worked for them forever – they want to give the ball air, they want to create opportunities by a mixture of structure and attacking adventure.”
MORE: Baa-Baas bank on Saffa for Bok clash
While much attention will focus on the opposition, Davids insists the Springboks’ primary objective is to assess their own progress after a lengthy preparation period.
“It is important that we have balance and control in our game. We must transfer what we have been training into a match situation so we can see what works and what needs improvement.”
KITSIE: Players must pass Rassie’s ‘warrior test’
The Boks have based their preparations in Johannesburg before travelling to the Eastern Cape later this week.
According to Davids, continuity has been a key factor behind that decision.
“We had a training camp here in Joburg and felt that we would continue our preparation for the games in a place where we have grown comfortable.
“It has gone smoothly as we bring what we discussed in the alignment camps onto the practice pitch. It has been about setting standards and the game plans we are working on.”
OPINION: Gaza the glue to plug the Sacha gap
Touched down in South Africa
Let’s get to work
#Baabaas pic.twitter.com/J4uXZlE9AC
— Barbarian FC (@Barbarian_FC) June 15, 2026
Photo: Grant Pitcher/Gallo Images
The post Davids sounds Barbarians warning appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.
Espagne : « Lamine Yamal est en parfait état », rassure de la Fuente avant Cap-Vert
La sélection nationale espagnol affiche la sérénité. A la veille d’Espagne – Cap-Vert, du groupe H de la Coupe du Monde, Luis de la Fuente a voulu rassurer tout le monde sur l’état de santé de sa troupe. Lamine Yamal est en pleine forme et tous les joueurs sont disponibles pour le coup d’envoi.
Yamal rassure à la veille du match
L’Espagne fera face au Cap-Vert ce lundi 15 juin à 16h00 GMT. A la veille de ce match, le sélectionneur de l’Espagne Luis de la Fuente a rassuré les fans sur la bonne forme de sa troupe, notamment son prodige Lamine Yamal. « Lamine est en pleine forme et s’entraîne très bien, tout comme le reste de ses coéquipiers qui ont connu quelques petits soucis physiques »,a assuré l’entraîneur espagnol. De quoi calmer les rumeurs qui circulaient sur une petite gêne de la pépite du Barça.
Groupe au complet pour l’entrée en lice
Le message de la Fuente est clair, l’Espagne arrive à 100% pour son premier match. « Je peux vous confirmer que tous les joueurs sont disponibles pour le premier match », précise t-il. Une bonne nouvelle pour le sélectionneur qui pourra compter sur l’ensemble de son effectif face au Cap-Vert. Après quelques alertes physiques à l’entraînement, la Roja semble donc prête à démarrer sa Coupe du Monde sans absence majeure.
Un Cap-Vert prévenu
Avec un Lamine Yamal en parfait état, l’Espagne envoie déjà un signal à son adversaire. Le jeune ailier, révélation de la saison avec le Barça, sera l’une des armes offensives majeures de la Roja. Face à une sélection cap-verdienne accrocheuse, disposer de tous ses cadres et d’un Yamal à son meilleur niveau est un atout précieux pour bien lancer la campagne.
The post Espagne : « Lamine Yamal est en parfait état », rassure de la Fuente avant Cap-Vert appeared first on AfricaFootUnited.
SA trio to discover Champions Cup fate
The pool draws for the 2026-27 Investec Champions Cup and EPCR Challenge Cup tournaments will be staged in Dublin on Wednesday, 1 July.
Both draws at the Premier Sports studios will be streamed live on epcrugby.com from 1:30pm (SA time).
The 24 Champions Cup clubs which have qualified from the French Top 14, English Premiership and Vodacom URC will once again compete in four pools of six.
The key principles of the Champions Cup draw are as follows:
- Each pool of six will contain two clubs from each of the leagues.
- Clubs from the same URC Shield cannot be in the same pool. Therefore, the South African qualifiers – the Bulls, Lions and Stormers – will each be drawn or allocated into separate pools.
- There will be no matches between clubs from the same league, so in order to create the pool stage fixtures, each club will play four matches against four different clubs who are not from the same league, either home or away.
2026-27 Champions Cup qualifiers
Top 14: Toulouse, Montpellier, Stade Français, Racing 92, Pau, La Rochelle, Clermont, Bordeaux Bègles.
Premiership: Northampton Saints, Exeter Chiefs, Bath, Leicester Tigers, Saracens, Bristol Bears, Sale Sharks, Gloucester.
URC: Leinster, Bulls, Glasgow Warriors, Stormers, Munster, Cardiff, Lions, Connacht.
DOBBO: Champions Cup ‘massive’ for Stormers
2026/27 match weekends
Round 1: 16/17/18 October 2026
Round 2: 11/12/13 December 2026
Round 3: 8/9/10 January 2027
Round 4: 15/16/17 January 2027
Round of 16: 2/3/4 April 2027
Quarter-finals: 9/10/11 April 2027
Semi-finals: 30 April / 1/2 May 2027
Lyon 2027 Finals Weekend, OL Stadium
EPCR Challenge Cup final: Friday, 21 May 2027
Investec Champions Cup final: Saturday, 22 May 2027
The post SA trio to discover Champions Cup fate appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.