Leinster Eyeing Silverware, but More Work Ahead, Says Nienaber
Published on BBC Rugby Union, May 16, 2023
Despite Leinster’s aspirations to claim both the Investec Champions Cup and the United Rugby Championship (URC) titles, their World Cup-winning senior coach Jacques Nienaber believes the Irish province still has room for improvement.
Nienaber, who guided Leinster to an impressive 20-17 victory over Northampton Saints in the Champions Cup semi-final at Croke Park on Saturday, acknowledged that his team has not yet reached its full potential. However, he is confident that Leinster will continue to get better as the season progresses.
“We showed there is definitely stuff that we can improve on in attack. There is definitely some stuff we can improve on in our kicking game, our defence, and our set-piece. We’re not the finished product at all.”
The coach’s assessment came after Leinster weathered a late fightback from the Premiership outfit in the Champions Cup semi-final. While the Irish province secured the win, Nienaber acknowledged that there were opportunities they could have capitalized on better.
“Were there things that we could have done better? Yes. Were there things that we did well? Yes. The way we closed out the game in the last four minutes was good.”
Nienaber emphasized that knockout rugby is never perfect, and teams must do everything in their power to win, regardless of the challenges they face. He also noted that Northampton Saints are a formidable opponent, and it would be unrealistic to expect them to simply surrender in a major semi-final.
As Leinster prepares for the URC quarter-finals and the potential of lifting both the Champions Cup and URC titles, Nienaber believes the team has seven weeks to continue improving and reach their full potential.
“We’re not the finished product at all, and we’ve got seven weeks to make sure we get better at those things.”
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