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In pictures: Jacques Nienaber in good spirits at first Leinster training
By Grant Constable
Double world Cup winning coach Jacques Nienaber has arrived at Leinster and was today spotted getting to work at training.
Just short of a month after winning the Rugby World Cup in Paris with the Springboks, Nienaber is getting settled and has taken up his new role with the province.
After replacing Stuart Lancaster, who departed for a Director of Rugby role with Siya Kolisi's new club Racing 92, Nienaber appeared at a Monday training session.
Head coach Leo Cullen has said that defence coach Sean O'Brien could benefit the most from having Nienaber's experience and expertise on hand.
“Seanie’s been excellent. He’s stepping into the role,” said Cullen.
“He’s a brilliant character, so we’re very lucky to have him. He’s starting his journey as a defence coach and it’s been a great experience for him, in that role as contact skills.
“We’re all hoping to learn from Jacques when he comes in and Seanie will be someone who will grow a lot with his presence. It’s about refining what we do and getting better.”
"He has turned up this morning, very unassuming really," scrum coach Robin McBryde told RTÉ Sport.
"There was no big fanfare. He was left a slab of Guinness on his desk as a 'welcome to Ireland'.
"It was pretty low key. Just a round of applause when he was introduced to the squad.
"He has pretty much hit the ground running, he has obviously done his homework with regards to the language that we use here at Leinster.
"So he has been able to get into the rugby straight away, really around the training field. He wasn't on the touchline very long, he was on the training field and hitting the ground running."
Despite some of the hype of the world cup having worn down, his arrival has been met with great excitement and intrigue, with some wondering what took so long.
Leinster appeared to be in good spirits following their 21-16 win over Munster on Saturday, but they did suffer a major injury setback.
Cullen revealed that Ross Byrne has been ruled out of selection for this weekend’s clash against Connacht following a shoulder injury.
Byrne suffered the injury when attempting to prevent Craig Casey from finishing off Munster’s fifth-minute opening try. The injury could see Byrne miss Leinster’s opening Champions Cup matches against La Rochelle and Sale Sharks.
It could also spell trouble for Ireland as the fly-half could be unavailable for the start of Six Nations as well.
Meanwhile, Cormac Foley (shoulder), Michael Milne (shoulder injury) and Cian Healy (shoulder) will all step up their rehabilitation programme this week as they continue to recovery.
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Latest Comments
Thanks Nick. Surely they will thump Japan this week and the pressure will be off. Do you want to make a prediction that the defence coach will go before the Six Nations? England seem to want Borthwick there for a long time so surely they will back Bortho and look for a new defence coach?
Go to commentsYes, Carlos, I sensed before hand this would be a very close game, even could see an Arg. win....well, they have beaten all their three SH compatriots this year, then added Italy. And as nick says below, they were winners of the breakdown for a lot of the game, and both sides of the ball too.
Felipe very highly regarded in Ireland, esp. Leinster.
Good luck this weekend !
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