RUGBY NEWS - The heartbreaking loss in Saturday’s Vodacom Super Rugby final may be in the past, but when Johan Ackermann finally says goodbye to the Emirates Lions this week and heads north for a new challenge at Gloucester, he will leave a legacy of hope and resurgence behind.
The South African A coach’s decision to leave the Lions may still be a hotly debated topic but there is no doubt that Ackermann has revolutionised South African rugby and left a legacy that filters through not only the other Super Rugby sides, but also the Springboks as a whole.
While it is unfair to place the sole responsibility on the shoulders of one man, and Ackermann did learn from the likes of Dick Muir and John Mitchell before him, Ackermann deserves a lot of credit for moulding the Lions from Super Rugby nobodys into an imposing force in world rugby.
But away from the field, it is the culture of brotherhood, the sense of togetherness and the family culture that is so difficult to replicate in modern sporting teams that have made Ackermann a success. The Lions are not simply a team that performs on the field, their actions off the field and the culture they have created will be remembered a lot more than the scoreline at the end of 80 minutes.
And so Ackermann will go, not until Wednesday, with a plethora of farewells for staff and the team planned in the next few days, and head off for a challenge in a totally new environment that he hopes will better him as a coach and a mentor, in a tough series of competitions where few South Africans have succeeded before.
The elusive victory in Super Rugby may have not been meant for him – at least not yet – but there is little doubt that the Lions team that Ackermann leaves behind is stronger and deeper than it was when he found it, and Gloucester will be hoping he does the same for them.
Ackermann found that magical formula – taking a bunch of players that other unions didn’t want – and moulding them into a success story. The Bulls and Sharks both shunned players who are now the Lions stars to their detriment, and as Ackermann’s team soared, the flaws in Pretoria and Durban’s recruitment and player management processes were exposed.
For Ackermann there are many victories to savour, and many to remember, but it is the emotional attachment to the Lions that will make the journey so difficult for him when he boards the plane on Wednesday night.
As he admitted, there is a lot to be thankful for.
“There is a lot. To think where we were in 2014 after a lot of guys left the union and we got together as a new group. There were guys like Courtnall Skosan, Robbie Coetzee, Franco Mostert, Warwick Tecklenburg, Schalk van der Merwe, Willie Britz, Jaco was here from the juniors and still a youngster.
