Matfield dissects Bulls' resurgence under Johan Ackermann
INTERVIEW: Former Springbok and Bulls captain Victor Matfield has hailed Johan Ackermann for masterminding the Bulls’ resurgence after a rocky start to the season.
Ackermann succeeded Jake White at the beginning of the 2025/26 campaign but struggled to immediately stamp his authority on the team.
After four rounds of action, the Bulls were woeful, looked out of place, and went on a seven-match winless run.
The turnaround came earlier this year when they put together a gritty performance to beat French side, Pau, 26-24 in the Champions Cup.
Since then, the side from Pretoria has fired on all cylinders and defeated Edinburgh in Scotland for the first time before thumping the Lions 52-17, and Sharks 41-12 in recent weeks.
“It’s looking really good,” Matfield told Rugby365.
“I think Ackers had to find his feet first, and now it looks like there’s a good culture in the team.
“The one area they’ve improved on is their defence. The Bulls were leaking a lot of tries in the beginning of the season, but now, they defend well and keep teams out, and that’s good.”
Ackermann was forced into making some big changes to his coaching staff in December.
He parted ways with Andries Bekker and Chris Rossouw, who were part of the previous regime and acquired the services of Neil de Bruin as the backline and attack coach.
That was a good move, according to Matfield.
“Ackers and Swys [de Bruin] had a great relationship, and Neil thinks very much the same as Swys, plus they worked together in Japan.
“It’s always difficult when you come in with different assistant coaches who don’t think about the game like you.
“Neil and Ackers understand how they want to play and what they want to do. If you look at the last game, they were accurate.
“Their exits were good; they weren’t overplaying, and there was a balance in being conservative and brave.”
Matfield has also been impressed by several senior players who have stepped up when it mattered most.
“You need to give credit to Ackers for that,” he added.
“He loves spending individual time with players and getting the best out of them. I think Marcell [Coetzee] has made a big difference, and he always leads from the front. Handrè [Pollard] loves the responsibility, and Ackers will give him that, and he steps up when he needs to.”
After enjoying a two-week break, the Bulls will host the Stormers in the North-South derby on Saturday at Loftus Versfeld.
The last meeting between the sides ended in a 13-8 victory for the Stormers, but that will count very little considering their recent poor run of form.
The side from Cape Town lost their last three South African derbies, and Matfield has identified where they’ve gone wrong.
“The Stormers are dangerous, and they’ve got all the X-Factor players.
“At this stage, maybe they just need a bit more structure. A guy like Sacha [Feinberg-Mngomezulu] needs structure around him so he can express himself.
“I think there are too many guys who want to go out there and make magic or do special things rather than just sticking to the structure.
“They were just too loose in the last few weeks, and that’s why they’re struggling at the moment. I also think Damian Willemse will make a massive difference if he’s back.”
When asked for a prediction on the game, Matfield stopped short of picking a winner.
“The Bulls have found their mojo and are in a very good space. They know how they want to play and what they want to do. The confidence will be high, especially if they manage to be accurate in everything they do. It will be a good match.”
