Leinster senior coach Jacques Nienaber is looking to take the knowledge gleaned from the Springboks into their mammoth Champions Cup quarter-final against La Rochelle.
More specifically, the ex-South Africa head coach will be aiming to help the Irish province get over their knockout stage frustrations which have held them back over recent times.
Despite having the most talented squad in the competition over the past few years, they have not won the Champions Cup since 2018.
La Rochelle hoodoo
La Rochelle had beaten Leo Cullen’s team in the previous two championship games, and the French team had also dashed their hopes in 2021 with a 32-23 upset in the final four.
After the Rugby World Cup, Nienaber signed with Leinster after the Boks won the Webb Ellis Cup for the second consecutive year.
They won all three of their knockout stage matches by a single point, but that is the kind of tenacity the Irishmen could muster. They accomplished it the hard way in France.
Prior to this weekend’s pivotal Champions Cup match at Aviva Stadium, the 51-year-old spoke about the key elements that determine big game victories—a skill the Springboks have excelled at.
“I would say the secret of any knockout game is you’ve got to be accurate in what you do, it’s accuracy that gets you across the line,” Nienaber said.
“You’ve got to have intent, you’ve got to have energy and you need to be physical, and you need to be aligned and accurate in your plan.
Therefore, if you take a personal approach, you need to be physically fit, have a strong work ethic, and make sure that the person brings those things to the party on that particular day.
“Then, as a team, you need to ensure that everyone is on the same page, that we know what our roles are in attack and defense, and that you are accurate on game day.”
“And sometimes, when both teams provide that, parity, intensity, and physicality, we have a plan, they have a solid plan, they carry it out, and we carry it out together. Then, with a smile, he continued, “sometimes you just need a little bit of luck.”
Comparison to 2019
Nienaber used the 2019 World Cup final to compare the mindset of the teams during the round-of-16 and quarter-final ties.
Leinster were tested by Leicester Tigers at the weekend but Nienaber stated that “there wasn’t that much pressure on them to pull off a result,” before adding: “I’m not talking down on them. There was an expectancy pressure on us, definitely, and sometimes that is refreshing.”
However, Nienaber acknowledges that it will be different going into this match against La Rochelle, with both teams having expectation resting on their shoulders.
“Going into the 2019 World Cup final, South Africa had no expectancy pressure. That’s beautiful. England had all of that so that is a kind of freedom, you can express yourself,” the ex-Boks head coach said.
“This weekend there will be expectancy pressure on us and on La Rochelle as defending champions so that’s why this one will be a little different to the one we played last weekend.”
Leinster currently reside at the top of the United Rugby Championship table and have made serene progress in the Champions Cup, but this is the part of the season where it really matters.
In previous years they have faltered, but a victory over La Rochelle would take them a step closer to eradicating the hurt suffered over recent times.
‘There is no tomorrow’
“Yeah definitely, I think it’s the biggest match of the season so far,” Nienaber added.
“Last week was the biggest one and then now this one. Every knockout game is the biggest one of the season, because that’s the thing, there is no tomorrow if you lose.
“Luckily there is another competition you will go in but you will face the same pressure or the same, how can I say, importance of the game when you go into the quarter-finals of URC, semi-final and final.”
