Video: Why Nienaber to Leinster is a 'smart move'
It was an announcement that caught the entire rugby world by surprise: Jacques Nienaber is moving to Leinster after the World Cup.
However, as time passes, more and more experts are coming forward to explain why it might just be a masterstroke by the most successful Irish province.
Irishman Gordon D’Arcy and South Africa’s most capped player of all time, Victor Matfield, are the latest to add their voices to the chorus that feels Jacques Nienaber to Leinster is a good move.
D’Arcy, the 82-times capped former centre, said Nienaber’s appointment by Leinster is “really smart”, even though he did not understand it at first.
“Now that the dust has settled, it seems like a really, really good appointment,” the 43-year-old one-time British & Irish Lions player said.
“It gets him into coaching in Ireland, the top-ranked country in the world.
“The Irish system is very good and very appealing from the outside.
“People will see how things are done here, what they can learn and how it will challenge them as a coach.”
It certainly won’t be a walk in the park for the Bok coach and D’Arcy said Nienaber will find it “very challenging”.
(Article continues below Gordon D’Arcy interview …)
The Leinster legend, with 257 appearances for the province, said Nienaber will bring a “different perspective” and way of playing rugby to Leinster.
“The danger of having a ‘confirmation bias’ in a coaching structure is always there where you have so many like-minded people.
“Nienaber brings in an almost antagonistic viewpoint to the Leinster coaching.
“He has been in a World Cup Final, he has been a defence coach and he would bring a very different viewpoint.
“That will add an awful lot to the Leinster coaching ticket.”
The Irishman says there will be a lot of “pressure” on Nienaber from the outset, as there will be “expectation” that he MUST perform from the outset.
South Africa’s most capped Springbok, Matfield, also felt the time was right for Nienaber to ‘expand his horizons’.
“You have to manage your own career very well,” the 45-year-old told the same media Round Table.
“Jacques [Nienaber] has won a World Cup with South Africa and was pretty successful at Munster,” he added.
“If there is one system where he can grow as a coach, it will be in the Leinster system.”
Explaining why a successful Irish province would look at a South African coach, it is to help take them to the next level.
“With Leinster not winning anything last year – [despite dominating throughout the league stages of major competitions] – the question is: ‘What do they need?’
“That is something Jacques [Nienaber] can bring.
“He understands how to win World Cups, how to win trophies and how to win big games.
“That is the mentality that can make Leinster even more powerful.
“He will definitely grow as a coach and doors will open for him.”
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