Leinster: Jacques Nienaber already winning people over
Jacques Nienaber has begun work at Leinster. The South African coach is the Irish club's new head coach
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In the history of South African rugby, Jacques Nienaber will have glorious chapters to look back on. The coach first became a world champion in 2019 as an assistant to Rassie Erasmus. Then, taking charge after that tournament, he led the Springboks to World Cup glory in 2023, making it back-to-back titles. After that achievement, the coach decided to step down for a new challenge. It has brought him to Ireland, with Leinster.
Jacques Nienaber took up his duties this week, and his players already appear to be under his spell. "Everyone thinks it's really good. He was out on the pitch for the first time and you can already see him putting his stamp on things. He has obviously had a lot of success with South Africa and they are obviously a team who put a lot of pressure on the breakdowns. I hope we can learn a bit from him about defensive breakdowns, but also how they have made their defence so good over the last few years," said Scott Penny, one of the club's stars, speaking to the BBC. However, Nienaber already knows Ireland, having been an assistant to Erasmus at Munster from 2016 to 2017.
Defence, his trump card
On his Leinster debut, Jacques Nienaber led his side to a 24-22 win at Connacht on Saturday 02 December in the United Rugby Championship. The 51-year-old coach is also tasked with bringing back the Champions Cup, with his team having lost the last two finals in a row.
So what can Jacques Nienaber bring? Scott Penny has already looked into it. Having studied South Africa closely in recent years, he is impressed by their athleticism and their readiness to defend hard, the coach's trademark. "They are obviously big men and you can see that their physicality helps them in defence. Obviously, having size contributes to their line speed and their impact in contact and at the breakdown - it makes them a real force to be reckoned with. Our defensive analysis has been pretty good, we have had quite a few turnovers and have slowed things down. That is probably the main area we are focusing on a lot, so it's great to have Jacques to help us."