'The public, the media, they fire you': Jacques Nienaber floats potential shock Leinster exit

Ex-Springboks head coach and Leinster assistant coach Jacques Nienaber has hinted at a potential early exit from the club amid an explosive press conference.

The defensive mastermind has come under fire following the club’s failure to win the Champions Cup over his tenure, with criticism pointed at his aggressive defensive system.

Despite taking the club to multiple Champions Cup finals and winning the club’s first URC title in 2025, Nienaber claimed that he isn’t “valued” at Leinster and spoke of how the Irish media and Leinster fanbase could led to his sacking.

Jaque Fourie and Morné Steyn with some sage advice to the Lions

Jaque Fourie and Morné Steyn with some sage advice to the Lions

He brought up comments made by the Irish Independent’s Chief Rugby Correspondent Ruaidhri O’Connor that stated Leinster had “done a deal with the devil”, that could influence decision makers in a negative way.

“If, like he said, I’m ‘a devil’… So if it’s according to him, probably not,” Nienaber said on seeing out his deal with Leinster.

“Let me put it to you this way. Who fires you? Do you know who fires you? The public, the media, they fire you.

“Not the CEO, not Shane [Nolan, Leinster CEO]. He doesn’t fire me, but you guys fire us, fire all coaches, because the pressure builds up and builds up, and the fans then build the pressure on them, and then they [the board] just ask this and say, ‘listen lads, I think we must part ways’.

“When I say you guys, I’m saying the media. There’s a misconception that people get fired by the CEOs. That is because of pressure put on CEOs by the boards, by people listening.

“Let’s say the board member has dinner with his mates and his friends, and they go, ‘Sheesh, that Nienaber, you signed a deal with the devil, man’.

“I’m quoting Ruadhri there: ‘You signed a deal with the devil, you need to get rid of that devil, he’s killing Irish rugby’. That is how you get fired.

“So your question is, listen, am I going to be here? I hope so, OK. Currently I’m not sure, to be honest.

“I don’t think people value me here. They don’t value me here. They don’t.”

Nienaber signed on through to 2027 with Leinster but his stunning comments suggest he might not stay til the end.

He said that once the sentiment turns against you, internally and externally, “you’ve got to go”.

“The moment you lose the team or the fan, you’ve got to go. The moment you lose the changing room or the club, the fan-base you’ve got to go,” he said.

“You could just hang there and take your cheque, but no. They don’t want you there.

“I’ve been here three years, coached two finals and a semi-final of Europe. One semi-final loss, two final losses. URC; semi-final and a final. Won one.

“Listen, I can only fight through results, can’t I? I’m asking, am I that s***?”

“You say ‘you’re making the deal with the devil, this risk isn’t paying off’. Are you supporting me?”

Leinster face the Stormers in the URC semi-final this weekend as the club attempts to go back-to-back as champions.