Ex-Springboks coach Jacques Nienaber returns to South Africa for Leinster's 'Monster' URC Opener vs Stormers

The double Rugby World Cup-winning coach spent six years with the Stormers before moving on to the Springboks and later joining Leinster, where he takes up the role of Senior Coach of the province. Now, Nienaber returns to the land of the Springboks for Friday night’s highly-anticipated opener under the floodlights of DHL Stadium.

“It’s always nice coming back to Cape Town. My family is here,” said the 52-year-old. “I spent six years at the DHL Stormers. It’s a club that was good to me and that I learned a lot from. It gave me a lot of joy and a lot of good memories.

“I’m looking forward to the game against them. It’s going to be a massive challenge. They will be very determined. We will have to fight for it, and we will have to go to the gutters for it. Not many teams come over here and get a result at the DHL Stormers. They are a very tough team, especially here in Cape Town, with the crowd that they get.

“They are one of the best supported teams within the country. I am sure it’s going to be a massive atmosphere on Friday night and one that we are certainly looking forward to. It’s brilliant for us. We are very excited to be here.”

Nienaber knows Leinster’s opening fixtures will provide a stern test. There is no denying the quality of the Stormers squad, with a stacked roster brimming with South African Test match talent and plenty of Springbok hopefuls. The Cape Town franchise took the URC by 'Storm', when the four South African sides were added to expand the PRO 14 in 2021.

The 2021/22 season witnessed the Stormers win the URC title upon their very debut season, before going back to the final the following year for an eventual defeat to Munster. Nienaber recognises how even as defending champions, Leinster have their backs against the wall for the opening rounds of the URC.

“We have a tough start. We kick off against the Stormers, who finished fifth last season. Then we play the Bulls, who will be very determined after what happened against us in the final. Then it’s the Sharks who reached the semi-finals.

“So, on the hop, it’s the three South African teams who finished fifth, second, and third. We will have a good idea where we are after those three games, and then it’s Munster. So our first month is a blockbuster month for us, which is great.”

The former Springbok boss is also keen to keep his squad grounded despite last season’s triumph.

“We are not entitled to having a good start just because we are the defending champions. We will have to work hard. It will be good for us. There’s always big determination within the squad, and we are a club that prides ourselves on trying to fight for a trophy on two fronts. We want to fight in the BKT URC and we want to fight in Europe and try to go as deep as possible in both competitions.

“But it’s important for us to understand we are not entitled to any trophies. We must work hard for them. We’ve got no right to anything.

“I don’t think the fact that we had a result in the final last year will be relevant. I don’t think anybody is going to think ‘Hang on, lads, we won a trophy a couple of months ago, so things should be easier.’ It’s not going to be like that.”

Stormers head coach John Dobson, who worked closely with Nienaber during his Cape Town stint, is under no illusions about the challenge.

“He’s a very, very good coach, which doesn’t help the anxiety levels,” said Dobson. "He knows us very well. He was at the DHL Stormers for about five years, and we stay in touch.”

Looking ahead to Friday’s showdown, Dobson added: “It’s going to be a massive week. It’s a monster of a start. It’s going to be a heaving stadium, the Stormers against the defending champions under the Friday night lights. Then, after the game, people can go into the bars in the city and have some more fun. It’s a fantastic night out.”

As for the Stormers’ goals this season, Dobson was clear: “We have to host Play-Offs in Cape Town. That’s all we have been speaking about in camp. We’ve got some fantastic new players and it’s a really good, happy, tight squad.”

The Stormers have bolstered their ranks with big-name arrivals including scrum-half Cobus Reinach (Montpellier), flanker Ruan Ackermann (Gloucester), and props Ntuthuko Mchunu (Sharks) and Oli Kebble (Oyonnax).