'Interesting discussions': Leinster to adopt Springboks' famous tactic?
SPOTLIGHT: Former Springbok head coach Jacques Nienaber is set to start his new job with Leinster’s coaching team next week and his first task will be a big one.
That task will entail helping his new team prepare for a big Irish derby against his former province Munster.
Nienaber spent 18 months as a defence coach under Rassie Erasmus in Limerick before the duo eventually took over the Springbok team in 2018.
With two World Cup victories under his belt, Nienaber will arrive in Dublin with a wealth of knowledge. However, Leinster’s forwards coach Robin McBryde doesn’t expect big changes overnight.
“It will be gradual from the outset and, in fairness, it’s about allowing him to get his feet under the table and see how things work,” McBryde told Irish media this week.
“Obviously he is familiar with Irish rugby having had that experience with Munster.
“You know, he is a little bit further down the road than other coaches would be.
“I haven’t had contact with him, Leo [Cullen] has had a fair bit of contact with him, Sean O’Brien also from a defensive point of view.
“So, there are certain messages and certain words, certain language that has been passed over. He’s got that time to play with.”
McBryde was also asked about Nienaber’s World Cup tactics and the seven-one bench split the Boks used in the tournament immediately popped up
“I like the split he has got on the bench, the number of forwards he has got on there. Yeah, like I said there are going to be interesting discussions over the table over styles of play as well,” said McBryde.
“Obviously, the kicking game is going to be huge and you know, even down to the different training weeks, how they are structured, the content, the length of sessions, the length of meetings.
“There are a lot of things to be discussed really. So, it is just a very exciting period, a very exciting place to be from a coach’s point of view, expecting Jacques to be coming in and adding his bits to what’s already going on here.”
Sources: Irish Mirror and Irish Times
