Jacques Nienaber makes surprising admission following Leinster contract extension
Jacques Nienaber makes surprising admission following Leinster contract extension
Double World Cup-winning coach Jacques Nienaber has recently confirmed a contract extension at Leinster alongside attack coach Tyler Bleyendaal and scrum coach Robin McBryde.
Although the news recently filtered through about Nienaber’s long-term situation, the decision to stick around was made a long time ago.
Speaking to the Irish Examiner, the 52-year-old coach said: “I can’t even tell you when [the new contract] happened. I’m not sure if it was… It’s definitely after the Six Nations that it happened. I think it was the Six Nations somewhere there. It might have been in March or April or May? I can’t remember the exact date. So the point is probably it happened a long time ago.
“The news only broke now, but the discussions and the decisions were made a long time ago. And then the other thing is, yeah, the why. For me personally and for my family, and then also professionally, it just worked for me for now. It’s just working and that was the reason. As simple as that.”
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The victory recipe
With the long-term future locked in for the experienced coach, he will want his side to start living up to their lofty reputation. Leinster have notoriously struggled to clinch the top European prize in recent years, however, falling just short on multiple occasions.
Nienaber is aware of his side’s quality, but knows that hard work is just as important in the recipe for victory.
“We pride ourselves in fighting on two fronts,” said the senior coach.
“We obviously want to do well and go as deep as possible in the URC and in Europe, but 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.
“That doesn’t give us entitlement to any trophies. We still have to work hard for it. So it’s important for us to realize that.”