Jacques Nienaber has had a negative impact on this Leinster side since arriving in 2023, according to ex-Ireland head coach Eddie O’Sullivan.
The 53-year-old joined the Irish province as their senior coach after the Springboks’ 2023 Rugby World Cup success following the departure of Stuart Lancaster earlier in the year.
Lancaster was renowned for his ability to coach the attack, with the Dublin-based outfit a free-flowing side under the Englishman, but it did not yield any trophies.
They therefore hoped that the arrival Nienaber, who is regarded as one of best defensive minds around, could help them take that next step.
Although they claimed the United Rugby Championship title in 2025, that Investec Champions Cup title still eludes them having succumbed in the final in 2024 and then the semi-final a year later.
The concern for the supporters is that there doesn’t appear to have been any improvement so far this season with Leinster, if anything, taking a backwards step.
Defence can be ‘catastrophic’
“I don’t think Leinster’s current form is any indication they’re going to win the European Cup, I think [head coach] Leo [Cullen] knows that,” he told the Indo Sport podcast.
“I don’t think Leinster are playing great rugby and there are two dimensions to it. I keep going back to Nienaber, he’s really the head coach, he’s the guy calling all the rugby shots.
“They have built their house on defence and the defence has worked really well on occasions but, when it’s malfunctioned, it’s been catastrophic, as we saw against Northampton last year.
“The second part of it is even in the recent interpros, had Munster and Ulster been a little smarter, they could have unpicked that Leinster defence.
“That Leinster defence is very breachable if you play the right move at the right time and I’m surprised other teams haven’t figured it out sooner.
“Munster had them a couple of times and they shut it down. Had Munster got those away and scored, they could have beaten Leinster.
“That defence is very all or nothing and the problem is if you’re in the last-four of the European Cup and you meet a good team… you might come unstuck.”
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O’Sullivan explained why he feels Leinster’s rearguard can be exposed, particularly when they face some of the best teams in Europe and South Africa.
“It’s extreme blitz and it’s very narrow. They do a really good job in slowing the ruck so they got on the offside line and they launch like mad dogs in a meathouse,” he said.
“But a couple of times against Munster, Ciaran Frawley was the full-back and he stopped the football with a tackle, and outside Frawley there was two players in 20 or 30 metres of space. That ball gets out of there, it’s over, it’s a two-on-one run-in.
“Munster threw the spot pass one channel too far in. You throw that spot pass one channel further out and that opens it up.
“There are teams almost breaking them and if they’re a little bit smarter, they would probably get them a lot more.”
Leinster’s other issues
It is not just the defence O’Sullivan is concerned about having seen Leinster, especially this season, struggle for fluency with ball in hand.
“The other side of this is that their attack has gone backwards under Nienaber, it’s become incredibly attritional. It’s become primarily one-off runners,” he added.
“Occasionally they go to the edges, they do a nice reload and there’s a couple of spots out the back, but by and large they’re trying to batter teams into submission.
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“Their scrum is a part of that and when their scrum gets on top, they will crucify you, but they’ve had their issues around referees.
“There are three parts to their game which are vulnerable: their scrum is vulnerable on the wrong day, their defence is vulnerable on the wrong day and their attack is pretty predictable.
“I don’t think they’re going to batter their way to a European Cup like they do URC teams.”