America’s Got Talent seems a strange source of inspiration for Bulls coach Johan Ackermann. But it’s one of the many avenues he uses for inspiration in his rugby career.

“I enjoy inspiring stories from real life and things that people have overcome. It could be a guy who walks onto the stage at America’s Got Talent, and the judges have already judged him by his looks, and then he has this amazing talent,” he said.

It possibly resonates so much with Ackermann because every week, a rugby team and its coach are judged. He has coached all over the world and therefore understands this concept very well. At every new team he first had to prove himself to the sceptics. It happened again last season when, after three decades of rugby-related wanderings, he returned to Loftus Versfeld where everything had begun for him as a young policeman.

It’s amidst this weekly maelstrom of pressure that Ackermann works hard to find the balance. Not just for himself, but also for his players.

“For me personally, it’s a fine balance between being present and finding your own time. There is always a lot going on around a team, especially when we’re on tour. So I often go for a walk to switch off and listen to worship music,” he explained.

He also watch a lot of videos of people overcoming challenges in their lives.

“I watch a lot of rugby because it’s so much a part of my life. So when I need to get away from that a bit I love to watch these inspiring stories. It always reminds me that people go through incredible challenges which are much harder than just the pressure on us to win a match,” he remarked.

In the lead-up to this United Rugby Championship season, Ackermann has used every opportunity to convey a range of inspiring stories to his players.

Following a first season in which he was thrown in the deep end and took over mid-season but still managed to guide this team to a Grand Final, you can sense that he is relishing having a more settled start to this season to be able to do what he does best – give a player that bigger picture that makes him perform better.

“I showed them a video of a rugby league player in Australia (Jai Arrow) who was diagnosed with motor neurons disease. The team arranged that he could go onto the field and off again for two matches just to get his 100 caps for them because he is a legend there. It just makes you appreciate life so much more,” Ackermann said.

This burly former Springbok lock is certainly appreciating coming into this season more settled as a unit with his coaching staff and his players.

“There is more of a calm this season just because it’s not as new as it all was last season. This team showed a lot of unity last season. But it is a new season with changes in the team as players come in and others go. You need to be careful that just because you lost a Grand Final, you don’t go and turn everything on its head. We took what we needed from last season and what the stats showed and our own observations, and hopefully we can build on that this season,” he concluded.

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