Jacques Nienaber: Leo Cullen's impending exit changes nothing for Leinster

The widespread expectation is that Nienaber will return to working with the Springboks when his Leinster contract runs out next summer and that Felipe Contepomi will succeed Leo Cullen

Jacques Nienaber said finding a replacement for Leo Cullen is 'a process that Leinster is busy with'. Pic: Deon van der Merwe/Sportsfile

Leinster’s relations with the Irish media veered between sour and spicy towards the end of last season. The aftertaste was evident as Jacques Nienaber spoke prior to the province’s season opener away to the Lions in Johannesburg this weekend.

The prompt was an innocent one: how he was enjoying this latest trip home.

“Yeah, it’s always nice. I always think it’s a tough question because if you say, listen, I enjoy coming back to South Africa, sometimes people will take it from an Irish perspective [and assume] you’re not enjoying [your] time there. But it’s always nice to come back.

“Obviously, it's very familiar and you get the opportunity to meet up with friends around South Africa, which you probably haven't seen for a long time. So it’s always nice. And if there’s time and things work out, you get the opportunity to see the family. It's good.” 

Leinster ended the previous campaign by retaining their URC title but it had been an edgy and frustrating season marred by more losses than usual, so-so displays, debates over style and a bad beating at the hands of Bordeaux-Begles in the Champions Cup final.

The subsequent news that Leo Cullen will be ending his long stint in charge at the end of this coming term will frame much of what they do over the course of the next nine months, and it begs the question as to what’s next.

The widespread expectation is that Nienaber, the senior coach whose contract runs out next summer, will flip back to Springbok mode ahead of the World Cup in Australia, and that Felipe Contepomi will fly in to assume the reins in UCD.

"It's a process,” said Nienaber. “It's a process that Leinster is busy with and I'm sure the moment that all the parties are comfortable with an announcement, it will be announced and it will be in the media. But currently, it's a process and let's just leave it like that.” 

Nienaber had already described Cullen as the Alex Ferguson of rugby in a media engagement with Off The Ball a week before and he was in no way shocked by the head coach’s decision to call time after over a decade in the role.

Leinster players, from left, Jack Conan, Robbie Henshaw, James Ryan and Hugo Keenan during squad training session at Wits University in Johannesburg, South Africa. Pic: Deon van der Merwe/Sportsfile

That’s rugby at the pro end. Everyone moves on eventually.

Ferguson admitted to making a mistake when announcing his intention to leave Manchester United at the start of the millennium and Joe Schmidt’s otherwise sterling record with Ireland was diluted by his last season when he had already signposted his own exit.

Cullen has already made it clear that he is no lame duck coach, saying as much in no uncertain terms after the recent pre-season friendly against Zebre in Dublin, and Nienaber is certain that the players will not be affected by any such talk either.

"Yeah, look, for us, nothing has changed. It's the same coaching group. Maybe a couple of players came in and went out, but if you look at the team and how we operate and how we work, it's the same.

"So, all of us as a team and coaches operating at this level, you should be professional enough to go and get on with the job. That's the main thing for us, is we get on with the job. It's been announced well in advance and we keep doing what we're doing.

"So for us, from a whole coaching and management and staff point of view and players point of view, nothing has changed. We have a role to fulfil within a big, high-performance organisation and we're going to fulfil that.” 

Leinster have brought a 41-man group to South Africa that includes a rake of their top Ireland internationals as they look to avoid the disastrous results and tour that put them on the back foot for much of the previous season.

Jamison Gibson-Park didn’t travel because of a minor groin injury so he stayed at home with the likes of longer-term absentees in the shape of Caelan Doris, RG Snyman, Paddy McCarthy and Jack Boyle.

Andrew Porter is available again for the first time since injuring his calf in the URC semi-final against Stormers. So is Tommy O’Brien who pulled up in the URC final against the Bulls. Neither toured Down Under with Ireland after that.

Their seasons get underway with a game against the Lions in Joburg, where the hosts lost just once last term, and follow it up with a trip to Durban for a meeting with the Sharks before returning to Dublin.