Brian O’Driscoll weighs in on Jacques Nienaber and Leo Cullen debate after Leinster ‘punched in the face’ by Northampton Saints
Leinster coaches Jacques Nienaber and Leo Cullen, and Ireland legend Brian O'Driscoll.
Ireland legend Brian O’Driscoll has blamed the players rather than the coaches for Leinster’s shock Investec Champions Cup exit.
Pressure has ramped up on head coach Leo Cullen following their 37-34 defeat to Northampton Saints at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday.
Double Rugby World Cup winner Jacques Nienaber has also come under fire from fans after his much-lauded defensive system was breached five times by the Saints at the weekend.
Cullen was particularly criticised for his team selection, with Jordie Barrett surprisingly absent from the starting line-up, but O’Driscoll felt that the players simply did not execute well enough on the day.
Leinster ‘punched in the face’
“All of the people that are saying, ‘Leo’s got to go’ or ‘Jacques has got to go’ because there hasn’t been a return on the quality that has been possessed in this Leinster team over the course of the last five or six years. But no one was saying that a couple of weeks ago when the game plan was great against Quins and Glasgow,” he told Off The Ball.
“Northampton came with a plan that was brilliantly activated and that punching in the face thing really shocked Leinster, but they still should have had enough to be able to see it through.
“That’s not a coaching component, that is a player responsibility around delivering in key moments under massive pressure and scrutiny to deliver the pass or get the accuracy right.
“I thought Leinster were inaccurate comparatively to where they were so accurate in the other games and everything was flowing.
“I thought they lost the shape at times, they’re so hell-bent on this shape where I don’t think they’re playing heads-up.”
It is now seven years since Leinster last lifted the Champions Cup trophy after consistently falling short in the latter stages of the competition.
Defeats in the 2022, 2023 and 2024 finals have now been followed by an exit at the last-four stage, resulting in yet another inquest in Ireland as to what has gone wrong.
Not performing under pressure
“There definitely feels as though there’s a component missing. People will have a varying view as to what that is but I would put some onus on the players,” O’Driscoll.
“You’ve got to perform your best in the biggest games if you want silverware and they haven’t done that.
“That’s nothing a coach can put on you. You work with a psychologist maybe but you equip the team with a game plan you think will win.”
While O’Driscoll believes that the players should bear the brunt of the responsibility, the Leinster legend does admit that Nienaber’s defensive system will be examined.
It had been incredibly effective prior to Saturday, as evidenced by the zero points they conceded in the Champions Cup last-16 and quarter-final victories, but it was cut apart by the savvy Saints.
“I suppose we will scrutinise the defence as well. Whether you’re a fan of the blitz or not, it got pulled apart like we haven’t seen for two years,” O’Driscoll added.
READ MORE: Jacques Nienaber living with ‘consequences’ of controversial decisions amid vehement backlash
