Over the last couple games – Champions Cup wins over Stade Francais and Leicester – the tactics and of Jacques Nienaber look like they are beginning to click with Leinster.
Scoring points was a problem early in the season, but putting 70 points over those two matches is a sign that things are improving in attack.
Jacques Nienaber Discusses England & Felix Jones
While he will be delighted with how proceedings are going in his new home, he will be pleased to see his prodigy Felix Jones making a positive impact with England.
Having coached under Nienaber with South Africa, naturally fans have been comparing what Jones has been doing with with new team to South Africa’s style.
However, in a recent interview, Nienanber did not fully agree with these sentiments:
I can’t speak for Felix and I am not in the camp; I am a little bit reluctant as anything I say regarding England will probably be speculation and not factual but what I am getting from the media is that there is definitely a tendency for them to have a little bit more line speed.
I can’t say that it is like South Africa. It will be more line speed with an English flavour on it. I remember when we played against them in the World Cup semi-final, they also brought line speed. That’s why I can’t say it’s South African or not.
The World Cup winning head coach was humble and fair in his views on coaching styles and was adamant that nobody ‘owns’ a way of playing.
“In rugby one must be very careful not to label a style,” he added.
“Nobody owns a style, nobody owns a brand [of rugby].
“You do things that you think are going to work for you, with the athletic ability and skill set that you have within your squad. That is why you decided to do things a certain way.
“Nobody owns the right to anything in rugby. Everyone takes a little bit off somebody and then they add their own flavour.”
Leinster are currently facing Benetton Treviso in the URC, with the game live on RTE Two.
