AND SO THE time has arrived for the Nienaber Effect to come to bear. Leinster signed the two-time World Cup winner for precisely this reason: helping them over the line in the Champions Cup.
Today’s final against Toulouse is the logical time for South African senior coach Jacques Nienaber’s influence to be most obvious. Leinster have come up short on narrow margins in the last two finals, with their defence conceding three times in both defeats to La Rochelle, so Nienaber has been tasked with bridging the gap.
It wasn’t helpful that Nienaber missed all of Leinster’s pre-season and a fair chunk of the actual season due to his commitments with the Springboks but he made an immediate impression upon arrival in November. Players and coaches liked the fact that Nienaber knew all their language and systems the first day he turned up.
And he immediately set about turning their defence inside out, or rather outside in given how he asks defenders on the edge of the defensive line to operate. Nienaber promised it would take 14 games for Leinster’s players to grasp it and he was right – the timeline concluded with the quarter-final win over La Rochelle when Leinster’s defence was brilliant.
Nienaber said Leinster’s players would have to “rewire their brains” to get comfortable with his ultra-aggressive defence but second row James Ryan says it hasn’t been all that complicated.
“It hasn’t been tricky, it’s very simple in terms of the system; it’s just about committing to it,” says the Leinster lock, who will come off the bench today.
“So probably for the first while there was a little bit of teething stuff with it as everyone got used to the way we’re trying to defend.
“But as a coach he gives unbelievably good clarity. It’s easy to get behind. We’ve loved it and he’s a bit of a character as well. He’s got a good way of delivering messages, he’s got funny anecdotes as well. It’s enjoyable as a player to work with.”
We’ve heard about Nienaber’s powerful messages in team meetings but Ryan smiles when asked for an example of the anecdotes.
“None I can think of off the top of my head, most I can’t share anyway!” says Ryan.
“That’s his way of approaching it, he’s good at stories and the language he uses is good.”
Nienaber reckons the Leinster players were initially shocked at just how much he curses but they have come to embrace his destructive approach, which includes making the breakdown a ‘shitfight’ as much as possible.
That will be part of the plan today – to wreck Toulouse’s chances of attacking with quick, clean ball by assaulting their breakdown through classic jackaling but even more so through ‘barging’ after the tackle. That relentless counter-rucking work has been a prominent feature of Leinster’s defence this season.
And while the focus tends to be on the linespeed of Nienaber’s defence, with the edge defenders encouraged to get high and infield in order to stop the ball, the quality of his technical coaching and his influence on the players’ mindset has been as obvious.
Leinster’s tackle selection has been strong in their best performances – low chop tackles, slow wrestling double tackles, one high-one low, a total combination of techniques even within one defensive passage.
And Leinser’s players have a defensive energy that is greater than before. Whereas previously they came most alive when attacking, now they seem most enthused by throwing themselves into defensive sets.
The hard work of recent months means Leinster believe their defence is ready for perhaps its greatest challenge against this lethal Toulouse side.
“If you look at our first half against Northampton [in the semi-final], it was right up there, it showed how far it progressed since that first game Connacht,” says Caelan Doris, who has been particularly excellent in defence for Leinster.
“I think everyone has bought into it massively. I think the ability Toulouse have in attack and them averaging 40-plus points [per game], I think we’re going to need to be properly on it and have an awareness at times that they’re going to get turnovers, they will make linebreaks, they have such quality, and it is about our effort, our work-rate and our scramble and enjoying that and loving that.
“It’s definitely going to be a test but we’re looking forward to it.”
Leinster boss Leo Cullen says Nienaber has been “a breath of fresh air” for the players, while the coaching staff have enjoyed bouncing ideas off a man who sees things differently from some of them.
There’s no doubt that this Leinster team is in the image of Nienaber. They look to create a beautiful chaos and have a wild streak that wasn’t there before. Whether it’s enough to help them finally end the wait for a Champions Cup title remains to be seen.
But they’re glad to have a man of his nous in their corner.
“With South Africa at the World Cup, you saw how close the games were. Quarter, semi, final, one-point games that they were coming out on the right side of it and we were coming out the wrong side of games like that at Leinster,” says Ryan.
“So being able to pick his brains on a week like this… unfortunately, like he said to us before, there is no magic pill.
“But it’s about staying in the fight for the full 80, making everything a contest, whether it’s a ruck, a tackle or a barge, whatever it is that’s the way he looks at it.
“So he’s been brilliant and hopefully we can go one step further.”
