Jacques Nienaber’s blunt response to criticism of his Leinster defence: ‘If the answer is no, I’m not the right guy’
Leinster defending against the Lions and their senior coach Jacques Nienaber.
Leinster senior coach Jacques Nienaber states that he would be willing to compromise on his defensive system providing it “serves the club”.
The former Springboks head honcho has become famed for his extreme blitz defence, which helped South Africa to back-to-back Rugby World Cup titles.
Nienaber took that over to Leinster when he joined the province following the 2023 global tournament, but it has had mixed success.
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There have been times when the province have looked impregnable without the ball, but in the biggest games they have been opened up far too easily.
That has led to criticism of the South African and his methods, with calls for him to make a change to their rearguard.
“If it will be successful for the club, yeah, I will always serve the club. The moment you are not serving the club, your ego is done,” he bluntly told reporters.
Nienaber was speaking during a remarkable press conference which saw him raise doubts about his Leinster future.
That theme continued when he spoke about his system and whether it is the right fit for this Leinster squad.
“The question is, are you the best at that? For instance, you guys are in media and you’re good at writing and words, they [the editors] say they don’t like the style of writing, they want you to be romantic and you say ‘I’m actually a very factual guy’,” he said.
“Then, you must make a decision. Are you going to move away from something that is your strength and then adapt to something that you’re not comfortable with, to be something or someone else.
“But I think the important thing is it must always be to the benefit of the club, if you feel you can do it.”
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‘You must believe in one’
While Nienaber has become renowned for his take on the blitz defence, it is not the only system he has employed during his coaching career.
The 53-year-old admits that he would be willing to change but there is no guarantee it will be a success and, if that is the case, that may well be the end of his tenure.
“I mean, before I went to Munster I coached the drift defence at the Stormers and we were pretty good at it, have a look. We didn’t concede too many tries in Super Rugby,” he added.
“It’s not the case that I don’t understand the other system, I understand it, but both systems… there’s not one that’s better than the other.
“You must believe in one, the team must believe in one. If the players don’t believe in that anymore and we have to do a drift defence, it’s ‘can I coach them the best drift defence in the world to make them win?’ If the answer is no, then s***, I’m not the right guy.”
