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The Jacques Nienaber warning with Leinster hunting a trophy double
Leinster still have some way to go to achieve their prized double of Champions Cup/United Rugby Championship titles, something that has eluded them since 2018.
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Last weekend they fought off the fast-finishing Northampton and will now face Toulouse in a battle of giants for European honours on May 25.
But they are far from where they need to be, according to senior coach Jacques Nienaber, who joined the Irish province after leading the Springboks to Rugby World Cup glory last October.
Before their final at Tottenham, they have a pair of URC games to play as they look to retake the top spot which they ceded last month to Glasgow, starting at home to the Ospreys next Saturday at The RDS.
Pole position was lost following heavy defeats on their two-game tour to South Africa. However, while there are concerns about some of their recent performances, Nienaber has insisted Leinster will get better in the weeks ahead.
“We showed there is definitely stuff that we can improve on in attack,” he said with his team turning its attention back to league action after seeing off the Saints 20-17 at Croke Park.
“There is definitely some stuff that we can improve on in our kicking game. There is a lot of stuff we can improve on in our defence. There is a lot of stuff that we can improve on in our set-piece – we’re not the finished product at all.
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“In fairness, when we reviewed the Northampton game with the players, they said, ‘There is a lot that we can get better at’. As a coaching group, we know that and as a playing group, we know that.
“We have got seven weeks until the end of the season and we have got seven weeks to make sure we get better at those things, but we are not the finished product at all.
“Were there things that we could have done better? Yes. Were there things that we did well? Yes. The way we closed out the game in the last four minutes was good.
“I just think rugby is like life. There are ebbs and flows. You’re not feeling brilliant every day for 50 years. Some days you feel down. Some days you feel great.
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“That’s life, and rugby is like life. Sometimes the momentum is going with you and sometimes it’s going against you. It’s just how you absorb that. There will be opportunities. If you don’t take them, they will punish you. It’s as simple as that.”
Nienaber explained that the expectation a team like the Saints would simply roll over in a major semi-final wasn’t realistic. “I mean, has any team buried them?
"Amazing occasion… the players dug at the end."
– What Leo Cullen had to say after the dust settled on Leinster's third successive Champions Cup semi-final victory, from Liam Heagney ?? in Dublin. #LEIvNOR #ChampionsCup #rugby pic.twitter.com/KWYQshhBOo
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) May 4, 2024
“They are not a team that gets put away quickly. They are not top of the Premiership and scored the most Premiership tries for nothing.
“There were maybe opportunities that we had that we could have done better with. We looked at that and we have to fix that, so there is a lot to fix from our side.
“Playing in a semi-final, you must get over the line and it’s not going to be perfect. That’s knockout rugby for you. There are no bonus points for knockout, semis, finals. You just must do everything in your power to win.
“It will be the same when we go to the URC quarter-final. This weekend, it’s still bonus points and points difference up for grabs. But in the knockouts, it’s purely just to win the game.”
Comments on RugbyPass
A distinct discomfort with the officiating they were probably selected from the local IRA narcos branch along with the commentators bloody fly tippers.
1 Go to commentsWow, never thought I would read that
1 Go to commentsExcellent match. Great to see Keenan and Ryan back for Leinster. Super result for Ulster. Season is turning around.
1 Go to comments“We need eight or nine new players, who are hard-wearing and durable and experienced Premiership performers”. So why are they scouting a retired fullback who himself admits that his “body is broken”?
1 Go to commentsBrumbies hand, knocked a Crusaders hand. Therefore, knock on in goal. Crusaders, goal line drop out should’ve been awarded. most likely after that 24 each at full time, so extra time would’ve been the right an entertaining outcome. Act Jim
1 Go to commentsSpeell cehck
1 Go to commentsColeman is gaawwwwnnn.
1 Go to commentsnext SA head coach?
3 Go to commentsGreat try by van Poortvliet.
1 Go to commentsThey have been cruelled by injuries but almost nobody (Sevu Reece and Fletcher Newell big exceptions) has played above himself which regularly happened before. Surely Scott Robertson had maintained the recruitment programme and it looks like a reasonable squad. Last in this competition will stall a lot of careers. Penny seems likeable. But it’s not enough even though this was better. We haven’t been good enough and it’s not helped by the “it’s been 15 years since… “etc “after nearly every match. Seems somehow a soft gifting of something once valuable. Kieran Read giving comments last week almost choked describing the easy surrender of possession by the forwards. I’d love to think that the senior players some of whom are back can show enough pride in the jersey to test the Blues next week.
3 Go to commentsWho will Joe select for the back three with so many in form candidates? Just hope he doesn’t get shafted like Dave Rennie and to a lesser extent Deans.
6 Go to commentsAlways reluctant to blame a coach when losses rack up, but Penney must go. The backline is dysfunctional and the coach must carry the can. No cohesion, no idea and in many cases, minimal skill. The trains out of Roma St depart faster than the ball from Crusaders’ set pieces. Wouldn’t be surprised if the forwards went on strike.
3 Go to commentsAdding to earlier comment. Cullen Grace has been playing great at no6. Lio-Willie , who was on fire a few weeks ago, had a bad game. I think Cullen should have been moved to 8 earlier, Dominic Gardiner on earlier. Feel for Quinten Strange , put in a big shift .
6 Go to commentsWe dominated the scrums Ben Curry was all over pitch again .Surely James Harper got to be one of best English tightheads
1 Go to commentsRoos is a better option at 6 than 8 for the boks. Needs to work on his windgat though.
1 Go to commentsThe Sharks’ 2nd team maybe?
1 Go to comments‘radical’
1 Go to commentsCome back to Christchurch Robbie, please!
1 Go to commentsI think there is zero chance Sam Cane will be selected for another Test. There is simply no point except sentimentality. Razor is not sentimental- ask Wyatt Crocket. Razor is a ruthless selector
5 Go to comments> It would be best described as an elegant solution to what was potentially going to be a significant problem for new All Blacks coach Scott Robertson. It is a problem the mad population of New Zealand will have to cope with more and more as All Blacks are able to continue their careers in NZ post RWCs. It will not be a problem for coaches, who are always going to start a campaign with the captain for the next WC in mind. > Cane, despite his warrior spirit, his undoubted commitment to every team he played for and unforgettable heroics against Ireland in last year’s World Cup quarter-final, was never unanimously admired or respected within New Zealand while he was in the role. Neither was McCaw, he was considered far too passive a captain and then out of form until his last world cup where everyone opinions changed, just like they would have if Cane had won the WC. > It was never easy to see where Cane, or even if, he would fit into Robertson’s squad given the new coach will want to be building a new-look team with 2027 in mind. > Cane will win his selections on merit and come the end of the year, he’ll sign off, he hopes, with 100 caps and maybe even, at last, universal public appreciation for what was a special career. No, he won’t. Those returning from Japan have already earned the right to retain their jersey, it’s in their contract. Cane would have been playing against England if he was ready, and found it very hard to keep his place. Perform, and they keep it however. Very easy to see where Cane could have fit, very hard to see how he could have accomplished it choosing this year as his sabbatical instead of 2025, and that’s how it played out (though I assume we now know what when NZR said they were allowing him to move his sabbatical forward and return to NZ next year, they had actually agreed to simply select him for the All Blacks from overseas, without any chance he was going to play in NZ again). With a mammoth season of 15 All Black games they might as well get some value out of his years contract, though even with him being of equal character to Richie, I don’t think they should guarantee him his 100 caps. That’s not what the All Blacks should be about. He absolutely has to play winning football.
5 Go to comments