It’s been quite a journey for the Lions. Down and out of Super Rugby just three years ago, but today they’re playing in the Super Rugby semi-finals and are two wins away from being crowned champions.
It’s an amazing story. The victories have come one after the other and many of the players have become Springboks this year, while the team is considered to be the leading side in South Africa now. Who would have thought it three years ago?
Of course there are a number of people who have contributed to the rebirth of the Lions, but ask any one of the players turning out against the Highlanders today who has had the biggest influence on the team, including coach Johan Ackermann and his assistants, and the name that rolls off the tongue, without hesitation, is that of Dr Jannie Putter.
He is the same man who was the mental coach of the Bulls when they won three Super Rugby titles between 2006 and 2010. His influence then was massive, and it has been just as big in the last year for the Lions.
He ‘joined’ the Joburg-based union after Ackermann had contacted him the week before the Lions hosted the Waratahs at Ellis Park in May last year. The home team hadn’t beaten the Waratahs in nine years, but on that Saturday, May 30, the Lions triumphed 27-22.
Putter tells the story of what happened on the Tuesday before the game - his first meeting with the Lions players. “I said to Johan let’s see if we can connect - me and the players. I was immediately impressed with the leaders, who were sitting right in front of me - I felt a connection and introduced myself in a very personal way. I wanted them to do the same because most people would see them as untouchable, as heroes, which they are, but if you want to work with sportsmen and women you need to connect with them on a personal level.
“I had one question for them in that session. I asked: Who are the Lions?” They said, We are the Lions.”
“I said, Who are we?” They said, Us!. They didn’t understand my question and I said, Who is us?
“Eventually the thing we got to was, I am us!. And I said, “Who are the Lions?” and then they said, I am the Lions!. That’s where this culture started, about taking personal responsibility for the brand, for what we, as a group, stand for.
“This journey I’ve taken with this team, and what’s happening here, is about making wise decisions, becoming mentally tough, because there will be times when the players will be bombarded by the whole world and they need to withstand it. They need to be so strong that they can say I won’t be defined by the results in my life, but by the character and person I am”.
“Ultimately it’s about believing in a culture of personal responsibility and accountability, and standing up for what’s important to you.”
Putter works with the Lions only once a week and sometimes on match day, but the people who are like family to the players include head coach Johan Ackermann, assistants Swys de Bruin, JP Ferreira and Ivan van Rooyen, and team manager Mustapha Boomgaard, doctor Rob Collins and physiotherapist David van Wyk.
Ackermann is the 46-year-old head coach, a man who played 13 Tests in a career that ended in 2008 at the age of 38 and is also a two-time SA Coach of the Year winner.
De Bruin, 56, started his coaching career at the Sharks Academy in 1996 and has been at the Lions, in charge of attack, since Ackermann became head coach in 2013.
Ferreira is the 38-year-old defence guru and a real survivor at the Lions, having worked under Eugene Eloff, Dick Muir, John Mitchell and now Ackermann. He first served as technical analyst, but now looks after the team’s defence.
Van Rooyen is also long-time servant of Lions rugby, having worked under Wayne Taylor, the conditioning coach when Mitchell was coach, and has been credited for his role in the Lions’ success.
Ackermann’ s team is said to be among the fittest and strongest in Super Rugby and much of that is due to Van Rooyen’s input.
Finally, physio Van Wyk has worked with the Lions since 2010, while team manager Boomgaard has served in his role since 2010 as well. - Saturday Star