'Saracens are going to be quite emotional... like a bear with a sore head'
Johan Ackermann emits a wry smile. It was early July when Gloucester learned they would play Leicester away and Saracens at home in the weekends leading into the opening round European game versus Toulouse.
Events, though, have meant this tall order has only become taller. There they were at Welford Road last Saturday, plunged into a messy arm-wrestle with an enemy scrapping for crumbs following their zero-from-two start to the Gallagher Premiership.
Gloucester’s confident two-from-two form buckled, missing a penalty at one end and then conceding down the other in the closing minutes to lose by three points. Cruel.
Now they are facing another backs-to-the-wall opposition. Taking on Saracens at any time is difficult enough. Just look at how Gloucester were annihilated in the opening 20 minutes of last May’s Premiership semi-final at Allianz Park.
But to be facing the Londoners just four days after the club that has dominated English club rugby in recent times learned they have been fined £5.3million and deducted 35 points, well that is just playing with fire.
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Emotional teams are trouble. “It’s almost like with Leicester, you play them after two losses you know you are going to get a side that is going to be bang on it, and I think it is the same thing with Saracens,” Ackermann told RugbyPass ahead of the intriguing Saturday afternoon showdown at Kingsholm.
“In that sense, it is unfortunate that were play Saracens now because they are going to be quite emotional and well-motivated. Saying that, we have to control our standard.
“We didn’t play well in the first three weeks consistently so for us, if we really want to compete in this competition or in any competition, we have to be able to play well on a weekly basis and it starts on Saturday against Sarries. Even though we know they are going to be quite like a bear with a sore head, we have to match that.”
? | TEAM NEWS
? Ben Morgan captains the side
??????? First start for Chris Harris?#GLOvSAR | #BringItOn pic.twitter.com/WnrvC25x0B
— Gloucester Rugby ? (@gloucesterrugby) November 8, 2019
The finer details of the punishment meted out to Saracens, sanctions that will be enforced if the Londoners are unsuccessful in their appeal, are something Ackermann isn’t inclined to dwell on. “It’s something that is between Saracens and the Premiership,” he shrugged. “I don’t want to really get involved there.
“It [the salary cap] is part of the competition and we can just rely that we abide by that and just get on with it. At the end of the day, on the field it is important that we play as good as we can and not worry about the other teams.”
Especially at home. Gloucester won nine of their eleven home Premiership games last term, losing out to just Harlequins and Sale, but they know from their Champions Cup pool mishap, where they were beaten twice in three matches, that they simply can’t turn up at Kingsholm expecting things to automatically happen just because they are at home.
Sarries are being dragged over the coals, but arguably the best academy system in England could be their saving grace
– writes @alexshawsport ??? #Saracenshttps://t.co/DkUVscIb05
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) November 6, 2019
“The reality is the players thought exactly that, that it would work out itself. I don’t want to use the injuries that we had in the front row as an excuse. We struggled a bit there but apart from that, I do believe that we must do the hard work by playing well at home.
“There is no expectation to play away. You can go out and play without that added pressure, but we have to learn to handle the pressure to perform at home. It is a great time for Gloucester, for the supporters, when they see these teams coming and we have to live up to that expectation.”
Gloucester looked the part in the league two weekends ago, slithering past Wasps to a bonus point win despite the rain, and it was their inability to keep trust in this approach that most disappointed Ackermann when ambushed at Leicester.
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But what do I know!! ????#rwc #rugbyworldcup #rugbymemes #englandrugby #premrugby #gloucester
“The disappointing thing is the opportunities we left out there. We could have easily got a lot more points but we didn’t play the style that we want to play. We moved away from our DNA of playing an attacking brand of rugby and that is the disappointing thing.
“We showed in difficult conditions against Wasps we can still score tries, and we moved away from that. We are not there yet. Hopefully, this will be a bit of a setback that will wake up the players and get their form going.”
Leicester was a particularly uncomfortable place to be for Ackermann, Tom Hardwick’s result-stealing penalty on 79 minutes followed by raucous full-time Tigers cheers. But it wasn’t as if he came away from the East Midlands city without any reason to smile.
There has been little sympathy for Saracens following Premiership Rugby Limited's salary cap findings https://t.co/BfINhTdTiy
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) November 5, 2019
Earlier that Saturday he had sat down in his hotel room to lap up South Africa’s World Cup final victory over England. For sure, it was quite a different setting to how he watched the Springboks clinch their first title 24 years previously, Ackermann being part of the crowd that tumultuous day in Johannesburg. But all the same, the TV made for sweet viewing.
“My wife and one of my sons were in South Africa when they won last Saturday and they said the whole place, it doesn’t matter where you go, where you walk, it’s flags, it’s Springboks jerseys, it’s a happy place and that is what the country needed.
“It is always going through tough times. There is always negativity with the state of our economy and with our crime rate and things, so the sport just brings people together, it brings hope. You look at Siya Kolisi and the message that he gave and how our youngsters, our next generation, can aspire. We can work together and we can be one country, one team.
In the hour of his greatest triumph, Springboks coach Rassie Erasmus remembered his late Munster colleague Anthony Foley https://t.co/TMUvPcg7zK
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) November 5, 2019
“That is what people don’t realise. For a few hours last Saturday and with this trophy tour that the Springboks are on, people can put their differences aside and they can really support each other and they can really show how strong the country can be. So it is tremendous.
“I was fortunate to be at the ’95 World Cup when we won it and the joy in the streets with the people. This will exceed that.
“There was an expectation back then to do well but I don’t think there was a big exception to do well now and this reality that we have a black captain will probably bring even more unity to the country… I’m very happy, very proud.”
WATCH: Gloucester’s Johan Ackermann was one of three Premiership club bosses who sat down with RugbyPass at the Gallagher launch in September
Comments on RugbyPass
Ben Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
19 Go to commentsHow is 7’s played there? I’m surprised 10 or 11 man rugby hasn’t taken off. 7 just doesn’t fit the 15s dynamics (rules n field etc) but these other versions do.
7 Go to commentsPick Swinton at your peril A liability just like JWH from the Roosters Skelton ??? went missing at RWC
14 Go to commentsLike tennis, who have a ranking system, and I believe rugby too, just measure over each period preceding a world cup event who was the longest number one and that would be it. In tennis the number one player frequently is not the grand slam winner. I love and adore the All Blacks since the days of Ian Kirkpatrick when I was a kid in SA. And still do because they are the masters of running rugby and are gentleman on and off the field - in general. And in my opinion they have been the majority of the time the best rugby team in the world.
19 Go to commentsHaving overseas possessions in 2024 is absurd. These Frenchies should have to give the New Caledonians their freedom.
21 Go to commentsBell injured his foot didn’t he? Bring Tupou in he’ll deliver when it counts. Agree mostly but I would switch in the Reds number 8 Harry Wilson for Swinton and move Rob Valentini to 6 instead. Wilson is a clever player who reads the play, you can’t outmuscle the AB’s and Springboks, if you have any chance it’s by playing clever. Same goes for Paisami, he’s a little guy who doesn’t really trouble the likes of De Allende and Jordie Barrett. I’d rather play Carter Gordon at 12 and put Michael Lynagh’s boy at 10. That way you get a BMT type goalkicker at 10 and a playmaker at 12. Anyways, just my two cents as a Bok supporter.
14 Go to commentsThanks Brett, love your articles which are alway pertinent. It’s a difficult topic trying to have a panel adjudicating consistently penalties for red card issues. Many of the mitigating reasons raised are judged subjectively, hence the different outcomes. How to take away subjective opinions?
9 Go to commentsYes Sir! Surprising, just like Fraser would also have escaped sanction if he was a few inches lower, even if it was by accident that he missed! Has there really been talk about those sanctions or is this just sensational journalism? I stopped reading, so might have missed any notations.
9 Go to commentsAI is only as good as the information put in, the nuances of the sport, what you see out the corner of the eye, how you sum up in a split second the situation, yes the AI is a tool but will not help win games, more likely contribute to a loss, Rugby Players are not robots, all AI can do if offer a solution not the solution. AI will effect many sports, help train better golfers etc.
45 Go to commentsIt couldn’t have been Ryan Crotty. He wasn’t selected in either World Cup side - they chose Money Bill instead. And Money Bill only cared about himself, and that manager he had, not the team.
26 Go to commentsYawn 🥱 nobody would give a hoot about this new trophy. End of the day we just have to beat Ireland and NZ this year then they can finally shut up 🤐
19 Go to commentsTalking bout Ryan Crotty? Heard Crotty say in a interview once that SBW doesen't care about the team . He went on to say that whenever they lost a big game, SBW would be happy as if nothing happened, according to him someone who cares would look down.. Personally I think Crotty is in the wrong, not for feeling gutted but for expecting others 2 be like him… I have been a bad loser forever as it matters so much to me but good on you SBW for being able to see the bigger picture….
26 Go to commentsThis sounds like a WWE idea so Americans can also get excited about rugby, RUGBY NEEDS A INTERNATIONAL CALENDER .. The rugby Championship and Six Nations can be held at same time, top 3 of six nations and top 3 of Rugby championship (6 nations should include Georgia AND another qualifying country while Fiji, Japan and Samoa/Tonga qualifier should make out 6 Southern teams).. Scrap June internationals and year end tours. Have a Elite top six Cup and the Bottom 6 in a secondary comp….
19 Go to commentsThe rugby championship would be even stronger with Fiji in it… I know it doesen’t fit the long term plans of NZ or Aus but you are robbing a whole nation of being able to see their best players play for Fiji…. Every second player in NZ and AUS teams has Fijian surnames… shame on you!!! World rugby won’t step in either as France and England has now also joined in…. I guess where money is involved it will always be the poor countries missing out….
86 Go to commentsNo surprise there. How hard can it be to pick a ball off the ground and chuck it to a mate? 😂
3 Go to commentsSometimes people just like a moan mate!
9 Go to commentsexcellent idea ! rugby needs this 💪
19 Go to comments9 Brumbies! What a joke! The best performing team in Oz! Ditch Skelton for Swain or Neville. Ryan Lonergan ahead of McDermott any day! Best selection bolter is Toole … amazing player
14 Go to comments