Northern Edition

Select Edition

Northern Northern
Southern Southern
Global Global
New Zealand New Zealand
France France

The Ulster verdict on exploiting the Jacques Nienaber defence

Leinster's Jacques Nienaber chats with Ulster boss Dan McFarland (Photo by Harry Murphy/Sportsfile via Getty Images)

Dan McFarland has given his verdict on the Springboks’ influence in Ulster’s New Year’s Day win over Leinster, his team’s exploitation of the Jacques Nienaber rush defence and the part that prop Steven Kitshoff had to play in the 22-21 victory.

ADVERTISEMENT

Trips to Dublin usually end in failure for the northern province but they managed to get one over on the league leaders at the RDS due to the canny manner in which out-half Billy Burns took advantage of the altered Leinster defensive set-up under the newly recruited Nienaber, the recent Springboks Rugby World Cup-winning head coach.

Leinster have adopted a narrower, blitz-like approach to their defending since the arrival last month of the former South African boss as a senior coach under Leo Cullen.

Video Spacer

Jacques Nienaber on evolution and why he left international rugby

Video Player is loading.
Current Time 0:00
Duration 0:00
Loaded: 0%
Stream Type LIVE
Remaining Time 0:00
 
1x
    • Chapters
    • descriptions off, selected
    • captions off, selected
      Video Spacer

      Jacques Nienaber on evolution and why he left international rugby

      Former Springbok coach Jacques Nienaber has given his first Leinster press conference and at it spoke about how big a role family played in his decision to leave Test rugby. He also spoke about evolution and how it will take a while to get things right at Leinster.

      They had secured hard-fought wins over Connacht, La Rochelle, Sale and Munster with him on board but this run came to an end when the accuracy of Burns’ kicking exposed them, the visiting out-half providing a booted in-behind assist for a couple of his team’s tries.

      “I don’t think it is new knowledge but if you play the kind of defence that Leinster are going to play this year, they are susceptible to kicking, high quality and accurate,” reckoned McFarland in the aftermath of a victory that lifted Ulster to fourth place on the table, six points behind Leinster with half of the campaign’s regulation-season 18 matches now played.

      22m Entries

      Avg. Points Scored
      2.6
      8
      Entries
      Avg. Points Scored
      3.1
      7
      Entries

      “Billy is one of the best in the game at that. I genuinely mean that. Definitely, it was a plan but you have got to have variety in that, you have got to be able to do it different ways; you can’t be obvious with it so setting it up and planning it is difficult but those guys, they understand that and they had to execute it well. Billy is really smart and understands where players are going to be and was able to put the ball there, even when it’s not structured.”

      Asked to shed more light on the Leinster blitz, McFarland added: “I’m not claiming to give you new information here, teams that have played against South Africa would have done exactly the same thing.

      ADVERTISEMENT

      “Teams that blitz hard off the line are susceptible to attacking kicks but you have to be able to execute then. Ours came off today and, as I say, Billy is one of the best at it.”

      While McFarland and co reaped reward versus the Nienaber defence with their kicking, he conceded they struggled at the breakdown with the South African’s tactic in that facet of play.

      “In the first half we just didn’t exit properly so we heaped a lot of pressure on ourselves, we had to rely on aspects of our game that we didn’t really want to have to rely on defensively to be able to keep Leinster out.

      “Leinster are a really good team and Jacques has brought in that relentlessness at the breakdown, particularly in (poor) weather. You saw it in La Rochelle.

      ADVERTISEMENT

      “They played La Rochelle in conditions like this (at the RDS) and they were ferocious at the breakdown with multiple numbers on the basis that they know you are not going to move the ball wide because it is so dangerous in the conditions in your own half to do that so they pile multiple numbers in.

      “We got caught with that, not aware enough, probably not committing enough people to the breakdown. We changed that at halftime, we talked about that and although it is still messy because it becomes like a free-for-all all in that area, we dealt with it much better in that second half but I still think there are areas of our exiting where we need to improve on.”

      Switching to the new South African influence within the Ulster ranks, the signing of loosehead Kitshoff, McFarland revealed that the prop took things by the scruff of the neck recently in Belfast after the team was coming off the back of a deflating second-half Champions Cup loss at Bath where their scrum gave up too many penalties.

      “He is a double World Cup winner, he lands with a huge amount of credibility full stop. There are two things. He spoke to us at a scrum meeting two weeks ago, he was very specific about what he said and it really hung in the air for the lads. I thought that was excellent.

      “But it is his stuff around the park, he carries well, is involved in really good defensive plays, he is always a jackal threat, just moves really well around the park.

      “He is not afraid of saying how it is, if things need to change or somebody needs to do something he will point it out. He is a double World Cup winner and he is captain of a URC-winning team. Steven is a top man adding a lot of value.”

      ADVERTISEMENT

      Kubota Spears vs Tokyo Sungoliath | Japan Rugby League One 2024/25 | Quarter Final Replay

      Australia vs USA | Pacific Four Series 2025 | Full Match Replay

      New Zealand vs Canada | Pacific Four Series 2025 | Full Match Replay

      South Africa vs New Zealand | The Rugby Championship U20's | Full Match Replay

      Argentina vs Australia | The Rugby Championship U20's | Full Match Replay

      The Game that Made Jonah Lomu

      The gruelling reality behind one of the fastest sports in the world | The Report

      Boks Office | Episode 40 | The Steven Kitshoff Special

      Trending on RugbyPass

      Comments

      0 Comments
      Be the first to comment...

      Join free and tell us what you really think!

      Sign up for free
      ADVERTISEMENT

      Latest Features

      Comments on RugbyPass

      S
      Solenn Bonnet 6 days ago
      Leinster cleanse palette with record URC scoreline against Zebre

      My name is Solenn Bonnet, and I am a single mother navigating the challenges of raising my two-year-old child while trying to make ends meet. I came across a trading platform that promised astonishing daily profits of 18%. The allure of such a high return on investment was too tempting to resist, and I found myself drawn into cryptocurrency trading. Excited by the prospect of financial freedom, I invested a significant amount of my savings, totaling over 5.7 BTC. However, what started as a hopeful venture quickly turned into a nightmare. The platform was a scam, and I lost everything I had invested. The emotional toll of this loss was immense; I felt devastated and helpless, struggling to provide for my child and keep up with my bills. In my desperate attempt to recover my funds, I sought help from various recovery experts. Unfortunately, I encountered numerous fraudulent individuals who claimed they could help me retrieve my lost money. Each time I reached out, I was met with disappointment and further scams, which only deepened my despair. Last year was one of the most challenging periods of my life, filled with anxiety and uncertainty about my financial future. Feeling overwhelmed and at a loss, I confided in a close friend from church about my situation. She listened compassionately and shared her own experiences with financial difficulties. Understanding my plight, she introduced me to Tech Cyber Force Recovery, a group of skilled hackers known for their expertise in recovering lost funds. Skeptical yet hopeful, I decided to reach out to them as a last resort. Their services came at a higher cost, but my friend generously offered to help me with a partial payment. I was amazed by how quickly they responded and began the recovery process. Their team was professional, efficient, and incredibly supportive throughout the entire ordeal. To my relief, they successfully recovered more than I had lost to those heartless scammers. This was truly transformative, and I felt a sense of relief and gratitude that I hadn’t felt in a long time. I strongly encourage anyone who has faced similar challenges or fallen victim to scams to reach out to Tech Cyber Force Recovery. If you’ve invested in a fraudulent platform like I did, they are highly capable of helping you reclaim your hard-earned money. Don’t lose hope; there is a way to recover what you’ve lost.

      CONSULT TECH CYBER FORCE RECOVERY

      EMAIL.. support@techyforcecyberretrieval.com

      WhatsApp.. +15617263697

      website.. https://techyforcecyberretrieval.com

      Telegram.. +15617263697

      0 Go to comments
      LONG READ
      LONG READ Ten of the best players to recruit from France’s ‘perfect’ ProD2 Ten of the best players to recruit from France’s ‘perfect’ ProD2
      Search