WHILE IT IS now just 11 days until the latest European Champions Cup final appearance for the province, senior coach Jacques Nienaber has suggested Leinster’s team to face defending champions Bordeaux Bègles in Bilbao isn’t entirely set in stone.
Courtesy of a semi-final victory against Toulon at the Aviva Stadium on 2 May, Leinster are set to compete in their fourth European top-tier decider in the space of just five seasons.
From the 15 who started that penultimate phase game, six of them featured at some point over the course of the eastern province’s United Rugby Championship success at the expense of the Lions in the Aviva on Saturday.
It remains to be seen if the other nine players from the Toulon line-up will be thrust into action when Leinster finish off their regular season campaign in the URC with a home bout against Ospreys this Saturday. Although he stressed head coach Leo Cullen has the final say on team selection, Nienaber believes the province having a competitive fixture between now and the Champions Cup final means places are still up for grabs.
“If you do that [pick the team to face Bordeaux already], then why do these guys play on Saturday? I think that’s the important part. Why would they go and put their heads in a dark place if they know they don’t have a chance to go and play in Bilbao? Or, if they know, ‘I’m going to play in Bilbao’,” Nienaber remarked at a Leinster media briefing yesterday.
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Leinster head coach Leo Cullen. Ben Brady / INPHO
Ben Brady / INPHO / INPHO
“That’s just my take. I’m not the guy. I don’t do the team selection. We do team selection as a group, but obviously Leo is the final guy. So, he’s responsible for team selection. We all give input, but he’s ultimately the guy that’s responsible for that.
“So, I’m just giving you my take on it. I will always fight for the player that is aligned with us. So, from a mindset point of view, that’s for me most important.”
Despite his focus for the beginning of this week being on the visit of Ospreys to Ballsbridge and Leinster’s bid to secure a top-two finish in the final URC table, Nienaber explained the challenge of Bordeaux will be on his mind from tomorrow onwards.
“Ospreys, my preparation and whatever the team should know about Ospreys should be done by Tuesday. Normally our off days are Wednesday. So, Wednesday I will be fully focused on doing work on Bordeaux.
“Like last week, I was done with Lions on Tuesday. From Wednesday to Thursday, Friday you start prepping for the team that you play the following week, which was Ospreys. So that’s normally how coaches’ work flows go.”
As the eagerly-anticipated showdown between Leinster and Bordeaux quickly moves into view, it is interesting to examine the general makeup of both squads.
Even though 19 of Bordeaux’s match day 23 from their own semi-final win over Bath at Stade Atlantique are French natives, less than a handful of that cohort spent time in the Top 14 club’s youth system and were instead recruited from other teams across France.
This is in stark contrast to the 23 Cullen selected for Leinster’s last-four triumph over Toulon. While overseas signings Rieko Ioane and Rabah Slimani contributed significantly to this victory, the Wicklow man was able to include 18 players who are graduates of the Leinster Academy against the three-time European champions.
Also featuring on that day against Toulon were Ireland internationals Jamison Gibson-Park (who qualified for Andy Farrell’s side via the residency rule) and Robbie Henshaw (a product of the Connacht system), as well as loosehead prop Jerry Cahir – who came through the Leinster schools system at Cistercian College Roscrea.
Nienaber feels having so many homegrown players is a ‘superpower’ for Leinster and is something he sees as being unique in the modern game of professional rugby.
“I think that’s probably the positive. If people want to write something positive about Leinster, it’s probably that angle. In that Toulon game, there’s 18 homegrown Leinster people that came through the sub-academy and the academy. Show me another club that does that? There’s none,” Nienaber added.
“I think that is probably one of the superpowers of Leinster, but it’s not reported on a lot. I think that’s remarkable of the club to do that. I don’t think there’s another club in the world. Maybe Japan. I’m not sure how Japan works because they actually work for the organisation. They work for Toyota, so I’m not sure how that works. How their club scene works there.
“Certainly in South Africa, no. New Zealand, no. Argentina, not sure. English clubs, no. Not that I can think of. French clubs, no. Not that I can think of. Scottish clubs, no. There’s a lot of South Africans there, isn’t there? So, I think it’s amazing actually that a club can do that.”
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'It's not reported on a lot' - Nienaber hails Leinster's ability to produce homegrown players
WHILE IT IS now just 11 days until the latest European Champions Cup final appearance for the province, senior coach Jacques Nienaber has suggested Leinster’s team to face defending champions Bordeaux Bègles in Bilbao isn’t entirely set in stone.
Courtesy of a semi-final victory against Toulon at the Aviva Stadium on 2 May, Leinster are set to compete in their fourth European top-tier decider in the space of just five seasons.
From the 15 who started that penultimate phase game, six of them featured at some point over the course of the eastern province’s United Rugby Championship success at the expense of the Lions in the Aviva on Saturday.
It remains to be seen if the other nine players from the Toulon line-up will be thrust into action when Leinster finish off their regular season campaign in the URC with a home bout against Ospreys this Saturday. Although he stressed head coach Leo Cullen has the final say on team selection, Nienaber believes the province having a competitive fixture between now and the Champions Cup final means places are still up for grabs.
“If you do that [pick the team to face Bordeaux already], then why do these guys play on Saturday? I think that’s the important part. Why would they go and put their heads in a dark place if they know they don’t have a chance to go and play in Bilbao? Or, if they know, ‘I’m going to play in Bilbao’,” Nienaber remarked at a Leinster media briefing yesterday.
“That’s just my take. I’m not the guy. I don’t do the team selection. We do team selection as a group, but obviously Leo is the final guy. So, he’s responsible for team selection. We all give input, but he’s ultimately the guy that’s responsible for that.
“So, I’m just giving you my take on it. I will always fight for the player that is aligned with us. So, from a mindset point of view, that’s for me most important.”
Despite his focus for the beginning of this week being on the visit of Ospreys to Ballsbridge and Leinster’s bid to secure a top-two finish in the final URC table, Nienaber explained the challenge of Bordeaux will be on his mind from tomorrow onwards.
“Ospreys, my preparation and whatever the team should know about Ospreys should be done by Tuesday. Normally our off days are Wednesday. So, Wednesday I will be fully focused on doing work on Bordeaux.
“Like last week, I was done with Lions on Tuesday. From Wednesday to Thursday, Friday you start prepping for the team that you play the following week, which was Ospreys. So that’s normally how coaches’ work flows go.”
As the eagerly-anticipated showdown between Leinster and Bordeaux quickly moves into view, it is interesting to examine the general makeup of both squads.
Even though 19 of Bordeaux’s match day 23 from their own semi-final win over Bath at Stade Atlantique are French natives, less than a handful of that cohort spent time in the Top 14 club’s youth system and were instead recruited from other teams across France.
This is in stark contrast to the 23 Cullen selected for Leinster’s last-four triumph over Toulon. While overseas signings Rieko Ioane and Rabah Slimani contributed significantly to this victory, the Wicklow man was able to include 18 players who are graduates of the Leinster Academy against the three-time European champions.
Also featuring on that day against Toulon were Ireland internationals Jamison Gibson-Park (who qualified for Andy Farrell’s side via the residency rule) and Robbie Henshaw (a product of the Connacht system), as well as loosehead prop Jerry Cahir – who came through the Leinster schools system at Cistercian College Roscrea.
Nienaber feels having so many homegrown players is a ‘superpower’ for Leinster and is something he sees as being unique in the modern game of professional rugby.
“I think that’s probably the positive. If people want to write something positive about Leinster, it’s probably that angle. In that Toulon game, there’s 18 homegrown Leinster people that came through the sub-academy and the academy. Show me another club that does that? There’s none,” Nienaber added.
“I think that is probably one of the superpowers of Leinster, but it’s not reported on a lot. I think that’s remarkable of the club to do that. I don’t think there’s another club in the world. Maybe Japan. I’m not sure how Japan works because they actually work for the organisation. They work for Toyota, so I’m not sure how that works. How their club scene works there.
“Certainly in South Africa, no. New Zealand, no. Argentina, not sure. English clubs, no. Not that I can think of. French clubs, no. Not that I can think of. Scottish clubs, no. There’s a lot of South Africans there, isn’t there? So, I think it’s amazing actually that a club can do that.”
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