'I said no': Dobson reveals SA forward's desperation to join Stormers

SPOTLIGHT: Ruan Ackermann has waited a very long time to join the Stormers.

In fact, he has waited four years to finally get his dream move.

Last month, the 29-year-old, who is the son of former Springbok lock Johan Ackermann, was officially unveiled as a Stormer after spending eight years with English club Gloucester.

The former Lions player established himself as a hard-working loose forward in the Premiership.

His work rate on both sides of the ball was something to behold during his 170 appearances.

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“I didn’t know Ruan Ackermann from Adam, and for three or four years he has asked to come to the Stormers, and every time I said no,” Stormers Director of Rugby John Dobson admitted.

“I don’t want to talk about how he has convinced us, but his desperation to play for this team meant a lot.

“He is making some sacrifices to do so, and I think he is a highly capable player and clearly a high-quality human being and leader.”

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‘Three variables’

Ackermann’s versatility in the back row will solve many problems next season.

There is that depth aspect that has been hovering over the Stormers when it comes to injuries and players being called up to the Bok squad.

“There were three big variables [involved in Ackermann’s signing],” said Dobson.

“The first one was Evan [Roos] being a late call-up to the Springboks.

“In the last URC campaign, we rested Evan for that Cardiff game [ahead of the play-offs] because we just didn’t have a replacement for him.

“If Evan establishes himself nicely in the Springbok team, those guys [Boks] are not playing the first five or six games of the new season. There is also the resting protocol.

“I don’t think we had a like-for-like.

“Ruan can also play No.6, No.7 and No.8. Deon [Fourie] is not going to start the season, and Paul de Villiers is still a developing player.”

Dobson added: “The other variable at the time was the BJ Dixon arbitration.

“If that had gone against us, then we would have been thin in the physical department.

“One of the things we saw in the Glasgow quarterfinal was how important those guys are who can do the big carries on the 4G pitch, and at the moment, Evan is pretty much the only guy who can do that.

“And the other piece was Dave Ewers and Willie [Engelbrecht] not being here anymore, while Keke Morabe had to have another re-break of that leg after an operation two months ago, as it didn’t set properly.

“That is a helluva serious injury because Keke is a big, mean carrier for us.”

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Versatility

With Ackermann’s arrival, Dobson is looking forward to having a bit of luxury when it comes to shifting players around in the squad.

“Ruan’s core job will be to cover for Evan,” the Stormers boss explained.

“We could end up with Ruan at No.6, BJ at No.7 and Evan at No.8 if you wanted to be really physical with Paul [de Villiers] and Marcel [Theunissen] coming off the bench.

“There is also the option of Ruan and Evan sharing game time, because we were going to injure Evan if we carried on playing him for 80 minutes and asking him to do what we did.

“I would say Ruan is always in the [matchday] 23.

“There’s also the option of BJ at No.4 while Salmaan [Moerat] is away.

“It just gives us a lot more flexibility than what we had. The key thing was the big physical carrying, and that’s what I am thrilled about.”

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