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While Leinster coach Jacques Nienaber tipped all four SA teams to reach the URC play-offs, he described the Bulls and Sharks games as 'Test matches'.
Leinster have won 12 out of 12 matches in the URC so far this season. Picture: Romain Perrocheau/AFP
Former Springbok and current Leinster coach Jacques Nienaber has highlighted the challenge of facing the in-form Bulls and Sharks, especially with his team likely to be understrength.
Irish giants Leinster top the United Rugby Championship (URC) table with 12 wins from 12 matches and come from a comfortable 42–24 win against Cardiff on 1 March.
But the Six Nations played between URC fixtures means Nienaber will likely have to rest many of his internationals to give them a break, as was done in recent years.
The B and C teams fielded by Leinster on their SA tours mean they have only won one out of seven URC matches in the country.
Nienaber said by the end of the week he would know who he could field soon and who he couldn’t.
This means Leinster could lose their first URC match of the season, either against the Bulls on Saturday or the Sharks next week.
“It will be a proper Test match for us,” Nienaber said. “It is a nice challenge for whoever is going to participate in these two matches.”
Looking at Saturday’s game, he said despite the injuries at the Bulls, and Springbok star Kurt-Lee Arendse being unlikely to return from his Japan sabbatical any time soon, the Pretoria side are star-studded and pose a massive challenge.
“If you look at the squad Jake [White] has built, I mean it’s a full-on international squad barring one or two positions.
“And those one or two positions are not far — they are on the radar of international selectors. I expect a Test-match intensity game.”
He said since he started coaching Leinster in December 2023, whenever they played SA sides they have found the going tough, proven especially by their poor away record.
But Nienaber made mention of their home victories against the Lions in October (24–6) and Stormers in January (36–12) as being closer than the scorelines suggested.
For this reason, he tipped all four South African franchises in the URC to reach the play-offs with the “very high level” of rugby they are playing.
“I expect all four of those teams to participate in the top eight. Currently, it looks like they are on track for that.”
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