Even with big guns returning, Nienaber expecting another 'clunky' Leinster performance

Jacques Nienaber said RG Snyman is looking "comfortable" in Leinster training as he returns from injury.

READY FOR ACTION: Garry Ringrose during Leinster Rugby squad on Monday. Picture: ©INPHO/Ben Brady

It’s not quite written in stone just yet but it does seem likely that RG Snyman’s belated Leinster debut will happen this Saturday at Benetton’s Stadio Comunale di Monigo.

The two-time World Cup-winning lock made the switch from Munster during the summer but picked up a foot injury with the Springboks during the Rugby Championship and has been eased back to fitness in the weeks since.

Easy to see why.

Snyman’s injury profile is notoriously poor. His time with Munster was jinxed by one issue after another with two ACL knee injuries keeping him sidelined – the first of them suffered just minutes into his debut against his current employers.

“When we started his return-to-play date, if everything went 100 percent and according to plan, we hoped that we could get him back for [the Dragons game] last weekend,” said Leinster defence coach Jacques Nienaber who coached him with South Africa.

“From a medical point of view they thought we must give him a little bit more time and see how he copes. He was in the majority of the training last week and he was comfortable. They just wanted to gradually progress his load. He is in full training this week.

“He trained well [Monday]. Hopefully the medics give us the all clear. From a coaching point of view, he needs to fulfil our needs in terms of quality of training and what he brings in the training and then he needs to fulfil their needs in terms of the fact that he doesn’t get symptoms. Then we can pick him.” 

Liam Molony with RG Snyman during Leinster training. Picture: ©INPHO/Ben Brady

That’s obviously good news in and off itself for the province but all the more welcome given they have eleven players away with the Emerging Ireland squad in South Africa and another five unavailable with injury.

Leo Cullen has used 33 players in their opening wins against Edinburgh and Dragons and the head coach is expected to draft another rump of frontline Ireland internationals into action for the first time this season when they play in Italy at the weekend.

Ten points from those first two games makes for a perfect mathematical return but no-one is jumping for joy after performances that have been hit-and-miss and bearing all the usual signs of summer rust that taints efforts at this time of year.

Nienaber is expecting similar the third time out, even with more of the big boys back.

“Yeah, clunky in the first-half [against Dragons], errors in the first-half, but they sorted that out. Same in the first game versus Edinburgh, clunky in the first-half and then just proceeded to get some momentum. It is going to look like that.

“This weekend, if we do get the majority of the internationals back, it will also be clunky. They haven’t played rugby for eight weeks. They won’t come in and play at the same level as against South Africa in Durban.

“If that performance from Frawls or Garry [Ringrose] in South Africa was an eight- or nine-out-of-ten performance then there is a good possibility that they will rock up with a six-out-of-ten performance here and we spoke about that as coaches this morning.

“That is the reality. You just have to go through that.” 

Leinster assistant coach Tyler Bleyendaal, left, senior coach Jacques Nienaber, centre, and head coach Leo Cullen. Picture: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile

Change is constant in this business. Not just in the line-ups but off the field with it. Nienaber only took up the role of defence guru at the club last November. Now it’s the attack that is adapting to a new voice with Tyler Bleyendaal’s arrival during the summer.

There was a theory at the end of last season’s fruitless campaign that the focus on ‘D’ had hamstrung the attack. And a follow-up fear now that the balance could shift too much in the attack’s favour as they again chase silverware on two fronts.

“There will always be perceptions and narratives,” said Nienaber, “as long as we stay in our reality. I’m not a hundred per cent sure from an attack point of view. Did the attack suffer at the hands of the defence? I’m not sure.

“The reality is, did we score less points than the last year? I honestly don’t know. I think in Europe we conceded the least tries. So did that help or not? I think in Europe we scored the second- or third-most tries. So it is difficult to say, but I don’t share that view.

“You are embedding a new system so you obviously take more time because you only have so many minutes in a week. You have to take it from attack, so you probably take some time from the attack. But did the attack suffer because of it? I’m not sure.”