A different take on Nienaber's influence
Yesterday at 09:18 AM
SPOTLIGHT: There is no doubt that the former Springbok head coach Jacques Nienaber will have a massive impact on any team's defensive systems.
And with good reason.
Nienaber has enjoyed great success with the Springboks, and since leaving the national side after the 2023 World Cup, he has been a perfect fit for Leinster.
The leading Irish club is undefeated at the top of the United Rugby Championship log.
However, Leinster's success has come at the same time as Ireland's gradual decline.
The back-to-back Six Nations Champs (2023 and 2024) failed to secure the title this year.
They started well with wins over England, Scotland, and Wales, but their hopes were brutally ended by France, who thrashed the hosts 42-27 in Dublin.
They managed to record a hard-fought 22-17 win over Italy in the last round of the tournament.
While the results have left many Irish fans looking for reasons behind the failure to secure their third title in a row, former Ireland centre Brian O'Driscoll has pointed a finger at Jacques Nienaber.
Most of the Ireland team comes from the Leinster set-up, and the Irish superstar believes that there has been a disconnect since the arrival of Nienaber at the Irish giants.
The double World Cup winner has looked to implement a Springboks-like blitz with the URC outfit, but the former centre is concerned that it is hindering the Test team.
"Defensively, there's definitely an issue between the Leinster defensive system and having so many players involved, and the lack of correlation between what they're trying to do defensively at Ireland," O'Driscoll told Off The Ball.
"It almost feels as though they're nearly retraining themselves into the Ireland system, but yet muscle memory has them doing some of the Leinster components.
"For instance, that really hard defensive line – and we saw it against Italy at the weekend – where some people are coming up hard, others a little bit softer.
"As soon as someone makes a read through; with Leinster, everyone heads to the sideline, the scramble is on, and actually, that leaves you susceptible back on the inside."
O'Driscoll added: "It doesn't feel as though that certainty is there anymore.
"It's no shock that when your defensive coach [Simon Easterby] goes to head coach, the ball is going to be dropped in some capacity; you just can't be over everything," O'Driscoll said.
"That's why we have specific coaches for each section. When Simon is trying to double and triple jobs, it makes sense there is going to be a fall-off.
"[But] I do think the change of system at Leinster over the last couple of seasons has impacted the national team as well because they're not defending in a similar way.
"They're looking for big line speed but none of that doubling under stuff that we're seeing from a lot of those Leinster players."
Source: Off the Ball
