Johannes Nicolaas 'Johan' Ackermann (born 3 June 1970) is a South African professional

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

coach and former player. He played as a

lock Lock(s) or Locked may refer to: Common meanings *Lock and key, a mechanical device used to secure items of importance *Lock (water navigation), a device for boats to transit between different levels of water, as in a canal Arts and entertainme ...

during his playing career between 1995 and 2007. He is currently the head coach at

Urayasu D-Rocks Urayasu D-Rocks, commonly known as the D-Rocks, or the Shining Arcs, is a rugby union team owned by NTT Communications and is part of Japan's Rugby League One competition, currently in Division 1. Given the name, the team is based in Urayasu Ci ...

Playing career

In 2007, Ackermann became the oldest

Springbok The springbok or springbuck (''Antidorcas marsupialis'') is an antelope found mainly in south and southwest Africa. The sole member of the genus (biology), genus ''Antidorcas'', this bovid was first Species description, described by the Germa ...

to play for the national side, at the age of 37. After the 2007 World Cup in France, he was recalled to the Springbok squad to play against the Barbarians. This was his last outing as an international player. Ackermann bowed out of professional rugby on a winning note on 1 March 2008, when the Sharks defeated the

Bulls Bulls may refer to: *The plural of bull, an adult male bovine * Bulls, New Zealand, a small town in the Rangitikei District Sports *Bucking bull, used in the sport of bull riding *Bulls (rugby union), a South African rugby union franchise operated ...

29-15 at

Loftus Versfeld Loftus Versfeld Stadium is a Rugby union, rugby stadium situated in the suburb of Arcadia, Pretoria, Arcadia, city of Pretoria in the Gauteng province of South Africa, owned by the Blue Bulls Rugby Union. The stadium can accommodate 51,762 spe ...

. He became the oldest player ever in Super Rugby history at age .

Coaching career

Ackermann was the forwards coach of the Lions in Super Rugby under head coach John Mitchell, but after Mitchell left the Union, he took over. He has seen success as coach of the Union including winning the SARU Coach of the Year award in 2014, his first year as head coach. He took over as head coach of the

Lions The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large cat of the genus ''Panthera'', native to Sub-Saharan Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; a short, rounded head; round ears; and a dark, hairy tuft at the tip of its tail. It is se ...

Super Rugby Super Rugby is a men's professional rugby union club competition involving teams from Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands. It has previously included teams from Argentina, Japan, and South Africa. Super Rugby started as the S ...

and the

Golden Lions The Golden Lions (), currently known as the Fidelity ADT Golden Lions for sponsorship reasons, are a South African professional rugby union team based in Johannesburg who compete in the annual Currie Cup. The team is governed by the Golden ...

Currie Cup The Currie Cup () is South Africa's premier domestic rugby union competition featuring teams representing either entire provinces or substantial regions within provinces. Although it is the premier domestic competition, four South African franc ...

sides in 2013. He was appointed as the head coach of English Premiership side

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city, non-metropolitan district and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West England, South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean ...

prior to the 2017–18 season. He left Gloucester at the end of June 2020 to become head coach at Japanese side Red Hurricanes He was replaced at Gloucester by

George Skivington George Skivington (born 3 December 1982) is an English professional rugby union coach and former player. He is the current head coach of Premiership Rugby side Gloucester. Early life and education Skivington was born in Warrington, Cheshire. ...

Personal

Ackerman is married, with two sons and a daughter. He is a strong

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

References

External links

*
Sharks profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ackermann, Johan 1970 births Living people Afrikaner people Blue Bulls players Bulls (rugby union) players Doping cases in rugby union Golden Lions players Griquas (rugby union) players Lions (United Rugby Championship) players Rugby union locks Rugby union players from Benoni Sharks (Currie Cup) players Sharks (rugby union) players South Africa international rugby union players South African rugby union coaches South African rugby union players

Playing career

Coaching career

Personal

See also

References

External links