LEINSTER’S SEASON JUST got a hell of a lot more interesting. Jacques Nienaber has arrived and was at training in UCD today.
Whether he can have much of an influence in the space of a few days ahead of this weekend’s clash with Connacht is unclear but it does seem certain that Nienaber will have a telling impact on Leinster over the course of this campaign and beyond.
Nienaber has been back in South Africa in recent weeks taking in their World Cup celebrations but also wrapping up the various loose ends that are left after six years as a key influence for the Springboks. Now, for pretty much the first time in his 15-year coaching career, Nienaber parts ways with Rassie Erasmus.
It will be riveting to see how the pair cope without each other. They have been a brilliant double act. Now Erasmus has to steer the Springboks ship without his defensive mastermind, while Nienaber has to integrate into a new, unfamiliar coaching team.
Appointed with the title of ‘senior coach’ in Leinster, Nienaber will be primarily in charge of their defence, his true area of expertise. It’s expected that he will have a big influence on their kicking game too, while has lots to offer in all other departments of the game given his experience and nous as a two-time World Cup winner.
The 51-year-old had loved his stint with Munster in 2016 and 2017 on and off the pitch. He enjoyed working with the inquisitive Irish players, learning from them as they learned huge amounts about defence from him. Nienaber’s family was extremely happy in Ireland too and they intended to stay long enough to get Irish passports before Erasmus convinced Nienaber to return to South Africa and help him shake the Springboks from their malaise.
That positive experience made Leinster’s approach attractive and the Nienaber family will make Sandymount in Dublin their home this time around. The settling-in process should be a lot easier given they’ve lived in Ireland before.
In terms of rugby, the bedding-in period will be fascinating. As Leo Cullen has been honest in admitting, they’re all waiting to see how it’s going to work within the coaching group.
Lancaster was also the senior coach in Leinster over the last seven seasons but he led both attack and defence, meaning he had a huge amount of work to do. Now, Nienaber will be in charge of the defence while Andrew Goodman, the Kiwi who has impressed since joining as backs coach in 2022, will step up as the attack coach.
Leo Cullen’s title is head coach but he’s expected to continue in what is akin to a director of rugby role involves very little hands-on coaching and more organisational, planning, and team selection-based duties.
All eyes will be on Leinster’s defence and kicking game over the coming months as we wait to see how Nienaber tweaks things, or perhaps even drastically changes them. With Munster, the Springboks, and other teams he has worked with, the defence has been ultra-aggressive, relentless, and uber-detailed. By all accounts, Leinster’s players feel like they’re getting an early Christmas present as they get set to work with Nienaber.
His journey in rugby has been intriguing. Nienaber came through Grey College in Bloemfontein, which has produced a long list of Springboks. But he was only good enough for their sevenths team and was more of a cross-country runner.
He met Erasmus the year after school when they were conscripted to the army and though Erasmus decided to stay on after that, Nienaber switched to studying. They remained close friends and began to work together as soon as Erasmus retired from playing and moved into coaching.
Initially, Nienaber was a physiotherapist, then he qualified as a strength and conditioning coach before Erasmus taught him everything he knew about defence and installed him as a specialist coach in that area. Even when he had been working as a physio, Nienaber impressed players and coaches with his eye for detail and understanding of rugby, so it was no surprise that he grabbed hold of the defence and pushed it beyond what even Erasmus had imagined.
Nienaber’s system has developed layer upon layer of complexity over the years. At the same time, those who have worked closely with Nienaber have loved how the nuances and details are also delivered with simple, clear messages. “Sign your f*cking name on his jersey,” Nienaber told Munster players as he primed them to tackle opponents.
Nienaber isn’t a natural speaker in front of the media – something he has hated doing from the start – but behind the scenes, he is said to be precise with his communication. He’s demanding but encouraging too. When players make mistakes, he is understanding as long as their work-rate is up to scratch and they adhere to the defensive system.
The sheer work-rate of the Springboks in their two World Cups has been genuinely astonishing. There were countless occasions in both campaigns when it looked like the Boks would be broken in defence but the relentlessness of someone managed to rescue the situation. Nienaber will aim to instill that world-leading appetite in Leinster.
In general, Leinster have been a strong defensive side in recent seasons but it won’t have sat well with them that they conceded three tries in each of the Champions Cup final defeats to La Rochelle in the last two seasons.
And as last weekend’s win over Munster showed, there is still lots of scope for improvement defensively. Seán O’Brien has done a good job filling in as defence coach for the first part of this season but Leinster are delighted to have Nienaber on board now.
We await signs of Nienaber’s influence with eagerness.
