Leinster making ever stronger case for the defence under Jacques Nienaber

Jacques Nienaber defence blitz programme is coming to fruitition at Leinster.

Mon, 14 Oct, 2024 - 06:42

Brendan O'Brien

Jacques Nienaber was a passive observer when Leinster met Munster in the URC last season last November. The World Cup had just ended with South Africa retaining their title and the erstwhile Springbok coach wasn’t due to start his new job until the following Monday.

He would speak days later about his defensive brief with the province, how it had taken him 14 weeks to embed the blitz programme into his players with the Springboks and likewise during his brief stint at Munster under Rassie Erasmus.

It made for a mad mid-season scramble as the squad digested the sea changes asked of them. Teething problems were inevitable, and most noticeable when Billy Burns kicked cleverly to the corner for two tries in an Ulster win at the RDS in the New Year.

Leinster conceded two tries to Munster at Croke Park on Saturday night just gone. They leaked just the one in that game eleven months ago. But they are clearly more comfortable and adept in the Nienaber system now than then.

Go back over the weekend’s action and, while the three-try scoring blitz in the first quarter still stands as the period that blew the doors off the game, it was Leinster’s frenzied scramble defence that stood out through the remaining hour.

Munster engineered a fair few line breaks but rarely broke free. There was one snapshot in the third quarter when Tom Farrell and Alex Nankivell made gallops for open space but got lassoed. When a penalty was awarded to the defenders they celebrated it like a try.

“This time last year Jacques hadn’t arrived,” head coach Leo Cullen said. “His World Cup was going on. It was interesting watching back at that Round 6 game [against Munster] last season because you tend to forget that Jacques arrived the week after.

“There is a lot clearer understanding having had that pre-season. We’re making progress, guys are working hard and there is a deeper understanding there, but it is still such early days. We just need to keep adding parts to our game.

“We’re moving along in the right direction.”

He’s right there. Leinster blew Benetton away in the first half-hour a week earlier but had to wait until the 79th minute for another try. They didn’t score at Croke Park in the entire second-half. That streakiness was in evidence last season, too.

Such lack of pressure on the scoreboard won’t do when it comes to the far end of the current campaign again although Cullen was right to point out that this is still the foothills and that most of their main internationals have had just two games under their belts.

There is clearly more to come, then. That in itself sounds ominous given the province has now claimed a maximum 20 points from the first four rounds of the league, their determination to tick every box obvious in their words and their actions.

Cullen alluded to that point after the game at GAA HQ when observing that, not only had their claimed a bonus-point for themselves but they had deprived Munster of a losing version while they were at it. Every point is being counted.

There appears to be a relentless about Leinster already this season and its not a careless drift into pop psychology to suggest that it is borne of the last three seasons that all ended with failure to claim silverware on either front.

“The group is motivated but it is round four. There are six games in this window. Can we win all of them? The next thing is the Sportsground, which is such a tough place to go, dealing with conditions on the day… We are getting in to winter rugby around now.

“And then deal with what the opposition throw at you. Connacht have so many with such a strong Leinster connection. They know our group so well and they are very motivated when they come up against us so it’s going to be a right handful.

“They have shown really good form in the first few rounds.”