Rieko Ioane hails ‘priceless’ Jacques Nienaber while All Blacks star opens up on being dropped by Scott Robertson
Rieko Ioane in action for the All Blacks and Leinster senior coach Jacques Nienaber.
Experienced All Black Rieko Ioane has praised the influence of Jacques Nienaber, while the back also opened up on his disappointing 2025 Test season.
The 29-year-old is currently working with the former Springboks head coach at Leinster and has enjoyed their time together at the Irish province.
Although Ioane hasn’t quite found his best form since moving to Dublin, that is evidently not because of poor coaching with one of the best in the business passing over his knowledge to the 88-times capped centre.
There has been some criticism of Nienaber with Leinster not quite as free-flowing as they were when Stuart Lancaster was at the helm, but the All Black has nothing but good to say about the South African, even if he has struggled with the strong accent.
Willingness to make you better
“It’s my first time being coached by a South African and I’ve enjoyed Jacques, although some of the stuff he says I can’t really understand,” he told the Irish Times.
“I’ve loved having him as a coach, and he’s priceless in this environment, his passion for defence, something I pride myself on.
“He just loves it, and honestly, you’d get him in a room and he could talk for two hours about one instance, and how willing he is to make the players and the team better is awesome.”
Ioane joined Nienaber at Leinster after a frustrating 2025, which saw him struggle for form throughout and eventually get dropped by Scott Robertson.
The former All Blacks head coach moved him to wing at the start of the season after an equally underwhelming 2024 at centre, but he lost his place after their victory over the Springboks at Eden Park.
‘Always kept an open mind’
“It sucks not playing, but I always kept an open mind. I was confident in my ability to cover wing and I was super confident in my ability to cover midfield,” he said.
“That’s where I want to play. That’s where I want to be while having the ability to cover both, but things in that championship played out that way.
“It was disappointing, but you can’t drop your lip. You’re still an All Black, whether you’re in the 23 or not. So, prepping the boys and making sure we had the best prepared team come Saturday ended up being my job. That’s just footy. Selection’s not up to you in a way.”
