'It's crazy what you hear on that mic': Jacques Nienaber on 'wink-gate'

Leinster senior coach Jacques Nienaber has dismissed the furore over Jaden Hendrikse’s antics, declaring, ‘it’s just normal’ behaviour in professional rugby.

Sharks scrum-half Hendrikse, who Nienaber has coached with the Springboks, caused a social media furore when he winked at Jack Crowley while being treated for cramp near where the Munster player was taking his place kick during last weekend’s dramatic shoot-out between the teams.

This followed an earlier tit-for-tat exchange between the pair, when, after taking the first kick, Hendrikse had clearly said something to rile up Crowley, who clapped back before taking his own kick at goal.

The URC quarter-final had gone to a place-kicking contest after the sides were locked at 24-24 after extra time. The Sharks won the shootout 6-4 and now go on to Pretoria to take on the Bulls in an all-South African semi-final, while Nienaber’s Leinster will be attempting to take down the reigning champions Glasgow in Dublin in the other semi-final.

“It’s something that happens in the game from minute one to minute 80,” Nienaber told The Irish Independent.

“There’s banter and trying to get under a guy’s skin and trying to physically impose yourself on him and try and rub his hair. I mean that happens for 80 minutes, so in this case, it was for everyone to see because it’s not as secluded as what will be in a game. But it happens in a game.

Nienaber then referenced the Peter O’Mahony jibe to Sam Cane during an All Blacks vs Ireland Test in 2022, that ‘he was just a s*** Richie McCaw’, as a further example of sportsmanship. Ireland went on to win that game, but Cane had the last laugh by producing a superb performance 18 months later, when the All Blacks dumped Ireland out of the 2023 World Cup.

“Think of Pete [O’Mahony], what did he tell Sam Cane? I mean, that banter flies. If you listen to just the referee mic and you take the commentators away, it’s crazy what you hear on that mic. They got stuck into each other. It’s just normal.”

Looking ahead to this weekend’s URC semi-final, Nienaber is wary of Glasgow’s ability to turn on the style in a big one-off game. Leinster have held the upper hand in recent exchanges with the Scottish outfit and are at home, but Nienaber says his team will be on full alert.

“If you think back to last year, they [Glasgow] went to Munster in Thomond Park. It’s a tall order to win in Thomond Park, and they did that. Then it’s an even taller order to fly over, go to altitude, play the Bulls, which we struggled with – we got knocked out the week before by the Bulls,” he stated.

“They went over there and got a result there. The same thing with Munster going to South Africa and doing a job on the Stormers. It’s a completely different game.

“You can be as good as you want to and play as brilliant rugby as you want to in the league stage of the competition, but where it counts is you just have to make sure that you are a little bit better than the team that you play against on that specific day of a knockout game.”