Stormers wary of Nienaber factor

25/04/2024 07:55

Jacques Nienaber played a key role during his stint at the DHL Stormers, and defence guru Norman Laker has acknowledged Leinster's improvement under his mentor.

The Stormers host the Irish outfit in round 15 of the Vodacom URC at Cape Town Stadium on Saturday. John Dobson's charges lost narrowly to Ospreys at home last week, while Leinster are also looking to bounce back after their youthful team suffered a heavy defeat at the Lions.

Nienaber joined Leinster as senior coach in November, and has wasted little time sharing his expertise. He is renowned for his defensive work at the Springboks and Munster, after initially helping to forge the Stormers into a steely unit.

Addressing the impact of the two-time World Cup winner at the Irish province, Laker this week praised Nienaber's work while highlighting the former Bok coach's influence on his career.

“Leinster’s defence was passive before. They weren’t quick off the line and it was more about connection. Now they’re shooting up,” the Stormers assistant coach was quoted by Netwerk24.

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"In the game they lost against Ulster, they went up and Billy Burns kept putting kicks behind them. They thought they had the system worked out, but that was just the beginning of Jacques at Leinster.

“One could already see in Leinster’s Champions Cup quarter-final against La Rochelle what Jacques’ impact is on the team and defence.”

"Jacques arrived at the Western Province at the end of 2007 when I was working at the institute [former Western Province Rugby Academy]. He came there weekly to see the coaching of the U19 team on defence. In 2010, I took over that role from him,” Laker added.

“From 2013, when I started at the WP’s Centre for Excellence with the juniors, we rubbed shoulders a lot and exchanged ideas.

“When he returned to the Springboks, half of the Stormers team was there. I therefore thought that it would be better to see how we can help each other rather than trying to establish my own system.

“I respect him incredibly much for what he has achieved as a coach and also for his humanity. Jacques could easily have kept his ideas to himself. We exchanged ideas and came up with a good system that we both coach well now.”

Photo: @leinsterrugby/Twitter

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