Jacques Nienaber to impart Springboks ‘secrets’ on Leinster ahead of massive Champions Cup quarter-final
Leinster senior coach Jacques Nienaber.
Leinster senior coach Jacques Nienaber is looking to take the knowledge gleaned from the Springboks into their mammoth Champions Cup quarter-final against La Rochelle.
More specifically, the ex-South Africa head coach will be aiming to help the Irish province get over their knockout stage frustrations which have held them back over recent times.
Despite having the most talented squad in the competition over the past few years, they have not won the Champions Cup since 2018.
La Rochelle hoodoo
Leo Cullen’s men were defeated in the previous two finals by La Rochelle, while the French outfit also ended their dreams in 2021 – a 32-23 reversal in the last-four.
Nienaber joined Leinster following the conclusion of the Rugby World Cup as the Boks lifted the Webb Ellis Cup for the second time in a row.
They did it the hard way in France, winning their three knockout stage matches by one point each, but that is the sort of resilience the Irishmen could do with.
Ahead of this weekend’s huge Champions Cup encounter at the Aviva Stadium, the 51-year-old discussed the decisive factors behind winning big games, something the Springboks have been expert at.
“I would say the secret of any knockout game is you’ve got to be accurate in what you do, it’s accuracy that gets you across the line,” Nienaber said.
“You’ve got to have intent, you’ve got to have energy and you need to be physical, and you need to be aligned and accurate in your plan.
“So, if you look at it individually, you have to be physical, you have to have a work ethic, you have to make sure on the day that the individual brings that to that party.
“Then from a team perspective you have to make sure that you’re aligned, we’ve got to know what we’ve got to do in attack and defence and then on the day you have to be accurate.
“And then sometimes when both teams bring that and there’s parity, and they bring intensity and physicality, we have a plan, they have a good plan, they execute their plan and we execute our plan. Then,” he smiled before saying: “you need a little bit of luck sometimes.”
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Comparison to 2019
Nienaber used the 2019 World Cup final to compare the mindset of the teams during the round-of-16 and quarter-final ties.
Leinster were tested by Leicester Tigers at the weekend but Nienaber stated that “there wasn’t that much pressure on them to pull off a result,” before adding: “I’m not talking down on them. There was an expectancy pressure on us, definitely, and sometimes that is refreshing.”
However, Nienaber acknowledges that it will be different going into this match against La Rochelle, with both teams having expectation resting on their shoulders.
“Going into the 2019 World Cup final, South Africa had no expectancy pressure. That’s beautiful. England had all of that so that is a kind of freedom, you can express yourself,” the ex-Boks head coach said.
“This weekend there will be expectancy pressure on us and on La Rochelle as defending champions so that’s why this one will be a little different to the one we played last weekend.”
Leinster currently reside at the top of the United Rugby Championship table and have made serene progress in the Champions Cup, but this is the part of the season where it really matters.
In previous years they have faltered, but a victory over La Rochelle would take them a step closer to eradicating the hurt suffered over recent times.
‘There is no tomorrow’
“Yeah definitely, I think it’s the biggest match of the season so far,” Nienaber added.
“Last week was the biggest one and then now this one. Every knockout game is the biggest one of the season, because that’s the thing, there is no tomorrow if you lose.
“Luckily there is another competition you will go in but you will face the same pressure or the same, how can I say, importance of the game when you go into the quarter-finals of URC, semi-final and final.”
