LEO CULLEN HAS opened up on the extent of his admiration for Jacques Nienaber as the South Africa head coach prepares to join Leinster later this year.
Nienaber, who has been an integral part of Springboks since 2018, will vacate the head coach position after the World Cup in France, serving as a replacement for Racing 92-bound senior coach Stuart Lancaster.
In Nienaber, Leinster get the man who masterminded the defence system that saw the Boks to their third World Cup win in 2019 and steered the team victory over the British and Irish Lions.
Cullen cited how he’s been a fan of his work, success and the character of the man.
“We admire greatly what Jacques has done, we are aware of Jacques through his time at Munster originally and back with the Springboks, going on to win the World Cup,” the Leinster boss told the media after his side’s 39-36 win over the Lions yesterday at Emirates Airline Park.
“Jacques is someone I have always admired, a great coach, and all the feedback I have heard on him as a coach is outstanding. Great coach and a man as well, the man part is the thing that I’m most attracted to, we want great characters in our group.
“He’s someone who has delivered at the highest level of the game, it’s a fantastic appointment for us as a club because of the experience that he has.
“I have a huge amount of respect for what the Springboks have achieved in recent years, the World Cup in 2019 and the Lions tour with Jacques in the head coach role. We are delighted to secure his signature post World Cup,” he said.
Cullen also believes that his young core will benefit from their tour of South Africa after beginning with a nail biting 39-36 win.
After multiple phases in the match where they were on the brink of defeat in Johannesburg, Leinster showed a determination not to lose and managed to snatch victory after the siren rang thanks to a Sam Prendergast penalty.
“It’s great character isn’t it,” Cullen said.
“The Lions looked well-coached in the first half, we were pulled apart quite easily, they scored four tries, the Lions particularly when they play here, have been in good form.
“The pleasing bit is how guys stood firm and dug in together, lots of things weren’t going our way but we managed to find a way. The game is a bit like that sometimes, you have to be able to win in different ways, you have to win pretty ugly at times and be clinical enough as well,” he said.
