October 16, 2026
Vodacom Bulls head coach Johan Ackermann has demanded an immediate mental reset from his squad ahead of Saturday's Investec Champions Cup opener against Stade Français at Loftus Versfeld. The stern warning comes less than a week after his side dismantled the Lions 57-15 in a nine-try United Rugby Championship derby demolition. Ackermann made it clear that past domestic exploits mean absolutely nothing as they transition to the prestigious European stage.
The head coach highlighted the psychological dangers of dwelling on a massive victory when preparing for top-tier French opposition. "The challenge is to forget about last week’s performance," Ackermann stated following the team announcement at Loftus. "Winning gives you confidence, but there’s a danger it can make you complacent. This game will humble you quickly if you don’t keep working and don’t reset on a Monday."
Ackermann expects a fierce, tactical shifting of gears against a highly dangerous Paris-based outfit. He noted that Stade Français possess a formidable set-piece and a rare capability to exploit space from anywhere on the park. "They’re so unpredictable," Ackermann warned. "It’s up to us to reset our whole mindset and know that we have to earn the right again to win. If we think we’re just going to throw the ball around, it’s not going to happen."
To combat complacency and maintain squad intensity, the coaching staff heavily reshuffled the matchday 23 for this weekend's clash. "We wanted to give the guys an opportunity, so the front row is just a straight swap. Cobus [Wiese] played off the bench a lot, so we opted to give him a starting opportunity," Ackermann said on Thursday. "Marco [Van Staden] hasn’t played much in the back row for us for some time [having covered hooker], and we feel it’s a position he is still very good at."
The backline receives a major tactical realignment with World Cup-winning flyhalf Handré Pollard reclaiming the number ten jersey. "Handre [Pollard] and Curwin [Bosch] are just a straight swap with Handre starting," Ackermann explained. "Cheswill Jooste has been quite patient after featuring off the bench or missing out on selection so far this season, and Sango [Xamlashe] trained really well, and we want to see what he can bring at this level and the same counts for Luan [Giliomee]."
The introduction of 19-year-old debutant Luan Giliomee at fullback injects fresh excitement into a completely restructured back three. "He [Giliomee] slotted in nicely, and we feel he knows everything now... we just want to see what he can do from fullback," Ackermann noted. "It’s all new combinations in a sense; Cheswill [Jooste] and Sebastian [De Klerk] have been with us for some time, so Luan is the newbie in the mix. In saying that, it’s a combination we would like to test and see what they can bring."
The experimental combinations are partially forced, as the Bulls are without the services of Springbok star Canan Moodie due to a concussion suffered against the Lions. Moodie was brilliant in the air fielding high balls last weekend, but Ackermann threw his backing behind his new, smaller back three to step up. "Obviously Canan [Moodie] is an exceptional talent and fielding the high ball is one of his strengths, but Cheswill showed he can do the job and we know Sebastian is good in the air," the coach insisted.
Despite lacking Moodie's height, Ackermann is confident that Jooste's raw athleticism will neutralise the aerial threat. "The thing with Cheswill is that many forget that he’s still 19 years old and he must just back himself, which is something he sometimes tends not to do, but he is one of the most explosive guys the S&C’s [Strength and conditioning coaches] said they’ve worked with. He can jump higher than any other guy, so he must just jump higher, and he will be fine," a chuckling Ackermann added.
The Pretoria outfit hopes this injection of raw speed can exploit the hot afternoon conditions to wear out the heavy French pack. "If it’s a nice, warm matchday, we can look to tire them down and hopefully get these guys into a bit of space, and hopefully we’ll see that," Ackermann concluded.