Nienaber ‘hits the ground running’ at Leinster

Former Springbok coach Jacques Nienaber wasted little time with pleasantries before diving straight into his first training session with Leinster on Monday.

The two-time world cup-winning coach arrived in Dublin on Friday, having agreed to join Irish giants Leinster before the tournament in France got underway.

After missing Leinster’s Vodacom URC derby victory over Munster on Saturday night, Nienaber had his official first day in the office on Monday ahead of the weekend’s clash with Connacht.

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“He was introduced in the meeting. There was a round of applause, not much fanfare other than that,” Leinster forwards coach Robin McBryde told reporters in Ireland of his new colleague.

“He got his hands stuck in right from the word go (at training), he’s been doing his homework and learning the language; so he’s hitting the ground running.

“There probably will be [system changes] down the road, but he’ll take his time. He’s been in regular contact with [Leinster skills and interim defence coach] Seán [O’Brien], so I think a lot of the language is in place already.

“He’s arrived with a load of knowledge, he’s won two world cups and everyone’s waiting for him to impart his knowledge. You’re willing to listen a bit more to someone with a proven track record as recently as the world cup.”