Jacques Nienaber tips Springboks defence coach to excel under Rassie Erasmus

Dylan Coetzee
Split with Jacques Nienaber and Jerry Flannery.

Split with Jacques Nienaber and Jerry Flannery.

Former Springboks head coach Jacques Nienaber expects new defence coach Jerry Flannery to “add value” to the national set-up under Rassie Erasmus.

Nienaber, who guided the side to their fourth Rugby World Cup title last year, traded the green and gold for the blue of Leinster as he took up the senior coach role in Dublin late last year.

The tactician was not the only loss from the Springboks coaching staff, with Felix Jones making the switch to the England backroom team under Steve Borthwick.

Changes

Naturally, this sparked changes in the coaching set-up with Erasmus moving back into the head coach role with Flannery coming in to lead the defence and former All Black Tony Brown to inspire the attack.

Flannery is no stranger to working under Erasmus, having done so in Munster, and Nienaber revealed that the former hooker spent some time with the Springboks before last year’s global showpiece.

“Obviously he would be very familiar with the way that Rassie would do stuff, because it will be very similar to how we did things when we were at Munster. Jerry actually spent some time with us in the World Cup preparation. I think he was there a week or two with the Boks,” Nienaber explained at a Leinster media briefing.

“He understands how the environment operates and the players would know him. He won’t be unfamiliar to them. He actually helped us a little bit with the hookers. He added value with the line-out throws, him being an international hooker himself. Just adding things that he saw.

“I think it’s a good opportunity for Jerry and I think he will be good for the Boks. I think both of those appointments, him and Tony Brown, are excellent appointments. They will add value to the team. I think he will be a good fit for South Africa.”

It will be fascinating to see how Erasmus and his team of coaches decide to approach the World Cup cycle, with some of the players entering the latter stages of their careers. The balance of the old guard and new talent will be crucial in their bid for an unprecedented three-peat of titles.

Leinster life during Six Nations

Meanwhile, the Six Nations is in full swing and what comes with that is a large group of Leinster stars being locked up in the national set-up, allowing Nienaber and the other coaches to focus on the fringe players.

Nienaber admits that part of him misses the intensity of Test rugby but he admits he is delighted to be involved with a club like Leinster.

“You watch the Six Nations games and you almost think back to how tense it is and how tense the environment is, how much is at stake. On one side you miss that, because I think that is where you feel alive. Where you have everything to lose, that’s where you feel alive,” he added.

“That’s the beauty of international rugby, but then the positive of club rugby is again where we are now within our group. Where you don’t just get the top guys in, where you have to grow squad depth within your squad with the young players coming through.

“It’s nice to be at a club, especially Leinster. The demand is always going to be massive. The demands that the fans and the club will have, and the players will have themselves, will equal the demands that you will have from an international team.”

READ MORE: WATCH: Trailer for highly-anticipated Springboks’ World Cup documentary ‘Chasing The Sun 2’ released

International Jacques Nienaber Jerry Flannery

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