When Johan Ackermann took over as the new head coach of the Bulls at Loftus Versfeld a few months ago, he made it clear that he sees himself in a role as a hands-on coach, who wants to work with his players on the field on a daily basis and that he was not interested in titles such as ‘Director of Rugby’.

One of Ackermann’s decisions that raised eyebrows was to retain the assistant coaches who survived the so-called “revolution” against former head couch, Jake White.

In the meantime, it has become clear that Ackermann and some of the assistant coaches’ working methods are not compatible and at least two of these men have been asked to vacate their positions. This followed after the Bulls had lost five consecutive games since the end of October last year – three in the United Rugby Championship and two in the European Rugby Champions Cup.

It is quite ironic how armchair pundits and quasi-supporters of the Bulls have meanwhile wanted to place all the blame for the team’s struggles in this new dispensation on Ackermann’s shoulders after joining a work environment that was previously described as “toxic”.

Various developments surrounding this situation have resulted in Ackerman showing his mettle and leadership qualities over the past two weeks and after the Bulls’ performance against the Stormers in Cape Town on Saturday, things suddenly look very different.

Although the Bulls narrowly lost 8-13 on Saturday, the result could have been the other way around. There were a few missed opportunities to score tries, while Handré Pollard’s goal-kicking – measured by his own standards – was far below average and this swung the result in the Cape Town team’s favour. It must of course also be mentioned that the windy conditions in the stadium made kicking difficult and that the Stormers’ Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu also struggled and missed a few kicks at the posts.

However, the majority of the Bulls’ supporters went to bed more peacefully on Saturday night, because it was clear that the developments of the past two weeks at Loftus Versfeld had a positive effect, but especially that Ackermann had firmly grasped the reins and that he is busy forcing the wagon back on track.

– The saga was brought to a head when a gossip story got out of hand. A rumor that originated in an established publication and later spread like wildfire via social media suggested that Ackermann allegedly asked members of the Springbok coaching staff to assist him during his team’s preparation for their URC game against the Stormers. That upset Ackermann to such an extent that he issued a statement on the matter late last week.

He emphasised that the speculation suggesting Springbok assistant coaches would be helping the Bulls during derby week was unfounded.

“I never asked for that, and Rassie also said it wouldn’t be ideal. The thought that they would be in camp this week (before the game against the Stormers) is ridiculous, and I challenge any press photographer to get a picture of a Bok coach at Loftus this week – it was never our intention,” Ackermann explained.

The Bulls coach expressed frustration at the misinformed reporting.

“The story was spread without the facts, and nobody bothered to speak to me. The truth is simple: I assessed everything and wanted a fresh pair of eyes to look at our defensive structures and bounce ideas off… I don’t expect the Bok coaches to put a plan together on how to win – that is my job as head coach. I have my own system; it was never my idea to secure plans,” an angry Ackermann emphasized.

Although a statement by SA Rugby made it very clear that their “Mobi-Unit”, which includes several assistant coaches of the Springboks, would only provide assistance to the Bulls in certain technical areas and that this would take place on a limited basis in line with a relationship that the Springboks have with all franchises, unfounded conclusions about “unfair advantage to the Bulls” were soon made in both formal and social media circles.

– As a player, Ackermann was known as a man who took no nonsense on the field, but since his coaching career began, he has distinguished himself as a true gentleman and a man who has become known for his exceptionally good human relations with all role players in rugby.

However, the way in which he recently managed the crisis at Loftus Versfeld and how he was not afraid to make and implement difficult but important decisions, spoke volumes about this man’s character, which was apparently underestimated by many outsiders.

This saga has properly thrown the spotlight on the situation that has arisen due to the huge influence that social media has on the lives of the public these days, while Ackerman also took a very important step when he duly rebuked the so-called “rugby media”, a large part of which these days are actually just supporters of the game and rugby enthusiasts with a cellphone, a laptop, too much airtime and too much time on their hands.

While social media certainly has its benefits, the latest Bulls saga has also shown the flip side of how unfounded gossip can eventually escalate and over time create confusion, establish hostile narratives or simply spread lies that are very quickly accepted as facts among the public.

Do you have more information about the story?

Please send us an email to bennittb@rekord.co.za or phone us on 083 625 4114.

For free breaking and community news, visit Rekord’s websites: Rekord East

For more news and interesting articles, like Rekord on Facebook, follow us on Twitter or Instagram