Listening to Jacques Nienaber talk about rugby is never less than interesting, particularly when drilling down to the detail.
Sitting in a familiar setting of Cape Town, where in a previous rugby life he worked at the Stormers, Leinster’s opponents on Friday night, from 2008-2014, the two-time World Cup winning coach touched on a variety of topics, from his decision to sign a new contract with the Irish province and a wish list for the upcoming season, stopping at several points in between.
Leinster’s fractured pre-season saw the squad broken into three cohorts, those that started on day one, a group returning from Ireland’s two Test tour to Georgia and Portugal and finally the Lions, who have just begun week three of the conditioning programme.
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Throw in injuries to a trio of frontline players, Caelan Doris, Joe McCarthy and Hugo Keenan and just a single warm-up game – a defeat to Cardiff in Tallaght – and there’s plenty to mull over as Leinster brace themselves for the opening game in defence of their URC title.
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Nienaber confirmed that his decision to agree a contract extension, until the summer of 2027, was taken during the Six Nations last season, although publicly announced in the summer because it worked for him “personally, his family and professionally.”
The vexed topic of the quest for European silverware remains an unscratchable itch, at least for now.
“We pride ourselves in fighting on two fronts, so we obviously want to do well and go as deep as possible in the UFC and in Europe. But it’s important, and we have to remind ourselves at the club and as players, that we are not entitled to trophies just because we maybe have a good squad, or we have good coaches, or we have a phenomenal fan base.
“There’s no more or less [motivation] that I can pick up since I’ve been with the club. In 2023/24 there was as big a drive to be successful on both fronts. We lost in a [URC] semi-final against the Bulls and in the [Champions Cup] final against Toulouse in extra-time.
“[Last season] there was as big a drive to go as deep as possible, and we lost against Northampton but then beat the Bulls. This year it is exactly the same. Any sportsperson is the same. I don’t think Rory McIlroy starts any tournament not wanting to go as well and as deep as possible. That is the way of things in professional sport, you want to go as hard as possible.”
Nienaber enjoyed working with a large tranche of the academy in the build-up to the Cardiff game, where many, from first to third year saw game time. He recounted a story about noticing that one of the first years was absent and asking whether the player was injured. ‘No’ came the response, ‘he’s off getting his Leaving Cert results.’
The South African elaborated further. “With youth, they are bulletproof, they are excited, they learn like sponges, they will try anything. They are still developing their skill sets and are not sure yet where they will end up, contemplating whether they will play professional rugby. What I enjoy is the transfer of knowledge and what is expected from you at Leinster, what the club is about and what it means to be a professional.”
In terms of a wish list for this season, it centres on growth. He was the coaching ‘newbie’ in the province in 2023, when Leinster also changed their kicking philosophy, while Tyler Bleyendaal was a new face last season in the coaching box.
Nienaber explained: “There’s been big changes in the coaching group over the last three years, changed both their defence and attack coaches.
“I think for us, it’s just the growth of understanding me a little bit better. I’m understanding them a little bit better, and I think understanding Tyler better, what his philosophy is. Obviously, in the first year, you try and develop the skill set to suit what you are trying to achieve on the pitch. The player grasping that, working on that, trying to improve that.
“I want to see that the players understand the way we want to attack a little bit better, that the skill sets that we work on in the pre-season come to life now, under pressure, against good sides.
“And if it doesn’t, okay, then we have to fix some things, or we must go down another path, or we must find solutions to that. The same on the defence. We must keep on chasing evolution, understanding, and getting better as a group.”
Leinster head coach Leo Cullen confirmed that flanker Will Connors, secondrow Brian Deeny, wing Jordan Larmour and centre Robbie Henshaw have all recovered from the injuries and are available for selection ahead of Friday night’s game.
Doris (shoulder) and McCarthy, who had a procedure on a foot injury sustained while playing for the Lions, won’t be available for the early rounds of the United Rugby Championship (URC). The Leinster head coach also revealed that Keenan would be sidelined for three months following an operation on his groin.
