Emotional Ackermann is Gloucester-bound
Lions head coach Johan Ackermann, true to his word, waited until this weeks Super Rugby bye week to finally confirm that he will be leaving the Joburg franchise.
Seated next to Lions CEO Rudolf Streauli at Ellis Park, a visibly emotional Ackermann, who found himself fighting back tears at times, finally confirmed that he is Gloucester-bound in England.
While his decision to move on will be greeted with sadness by the Lions, there was a silver lining to today’s announcement -Ackermann will only be leaving the Jo'burg franchise at the end of the current Super Rugby season.
The three-time SA Rugby Coach of the Year says it was purely a rugby decision.
The affable head coach went to great lengths to make it clear that his commitment to the Lions right until the last hurdle should never be doubted.
"I will be very disappointed if fans doubt my commitment to the Lions and my integrity. My journey will only start once my job is done here."
He says Super Rugby had opened the doors for him but with northern hemisphere coaching added to his CV, it would enhance his strong ambition significantly to coach an international team in the
future.
In his letter addressed to the Lions Ackermann stated that “I have [however] come to a crossroad in my career and believe that my coaching journey needs to change in order for me to grow [as a coach]”.
“I honour and respect the decision and wish him all the best. I hope he
grows in this new chapter of his career and returns to South Africa an even
better coach. Ackers is a valuable asset to the Lions, our community and our
culture and more importantly to SA Rugby, added Straeuli.
"Johan will be missed, but we have experienced coaches in our structures
and that will ensure continuity."
Ackermann was appointed head coach of the Lions in 2013
after being an assistant coach since 2010 and guided them to the Super Rugby
Final last year on the back of a Currie Cup title the previous season.
The club wasted little time announcing Ackermann's appointment on their twitter account at midday on Monday.
In order to express himself in the best possible way, Ackermann read a short message to the Lions fans in his home language, Afrikaans.
Video by Brenden Nel