Jacques Nienaber holds key to Leinster’s defence that can unlock way past La Rochelle

Standing pitchside in the company of TNT Sports rugby anchor Craig Doyle after Leinster’s Champions Cup victory over Leicester last Saturday, we were joined by the man-of-the-match Jamison Gibson-Park.

The scrumhalf had scored a hat-trick of tries, two of which were down to running classic upfield support lines, while the third was a trademark short-side of a ruck interplay with hooker Dan Sheehan. Gibson-Park was as unruffled physically as if he was conducting a pre-game chat.

A brief conversation ensued about the win over the Tigers, a stuttering, patchy performance that contained some nice, well-executed strike plays, but also passages of substandard stuff, the focus and accuracy not where it needed to be.

What became clear is that talk in the Leinster dressingroom immediately post-match had already shifted to Saturday’s European quarter-final against La Rochelle. Gibson-Park suggested that the influence of Jacques Nienaber could be a point of difference for Leinster this week.

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We have already witnessed how the World Cup-winning Springbok coach has changed the way that Leinster think about setting up the matchday 23, on the basis of a 6-2 bench split in a number of matches. When Caelan Doris switched from number eight to pack down at openside flanker in the final 20 minutes of the Leicester game, it looked a little bit more than simple rotation.

What struck me was how big the backrow looked with Ryan Baird, Jack Conan and Doris and I began to wonder if it might be a forerunner of how the team will line out against La Rochelle. It would be a shift away from the traditional shape of Leinster teams, but consistent with Nienaber’s preferences based on his time with South Africa. It is not just a woolly aspiration, as Leinster possess the players to set up that way if required.

Leo Cullen and his fellow coaches will have some interesting conversation points when it comes to selection. James Ryan has been a significant loss since undergoing bicep surgery last month following a training ground accident.

Cian Healy picked up a leg problem and that’s a setback. His introduction during the Tigers game along with that of Jason Jenkins and Conan underlined the importance of the bench when impacting a contest; all three made valuable contributions to help push the province out of sight on the scoreboard in the final quarter.

Ross Byrne’s fitness will lead the conversation around the number 10 jersey. If he’s available there’s still a debate to be held about which way to use the Byrne brothers and whether younger sibling Harry starting is the better fit.

If Ross is ruled out, then Ciarán Frawley will have his hat thrown in the outhalf ring, while, if Garry Ringrose is ready to play, I’d advocate selecting him on a wing specifically for this match.

The pool match where Leinster recorded a first win against La Rochelle in the French club’s backyard should have little direct relevance when it comes to Saturday’s game. On a miserable evening, where neither team really wanted the ball, Leinster found a way to use the weather more productively than their hosts and walked away deserving winners.

Since that match in December, there’s been a lot of rugby played and lately there are signs that French players have emerged from the grieving process of the World Cup to rediscover their best form. The return of a well-rested Grégory Alldritt, back to some of his best form, has coincided with improved fortunes for La Rochelle.

The French club expended a huge amount of physical and emotional energy in clawing back a 16-point deficit against the Stormers in Cape Town last weekend, an outlay that would have come to nothing if Manie Libbok had managed to land the conversion that would have given the South African side a win.

La Rochelle survived, but at what cost? The French club have been on the road since last Thursday, lots of air miles, hotels and a very unusual “on the fly” build-up to a match in spending five or six days away from home, their latest port of call, Cork.

Professional rugby players are nothing if not creatures of habit, but those familiar routines have gone out the window this week with La Rochelle turning into the Traveling Wilburys. Long-distance commuting extracts a tariff mentally and physically.

I remember my own playing days. We were due to play the Newcastle Falcons team that included Jonny Wilkinson and Inga Tuigamala at Kingston Park on a Sunday, but a frozen pitch saw the match rescheduled for Headingley in Leeds the following Tuesday. From there we caught a charter flight to Toulouse to play a second European match five days later.

We followed a commonsense approach in dialling down the physical side of the preparation, but mentally we never got on the plane from Leeds.

Leinster have earned their home comforts this week and they have to make sure that it counts. In previous editions of this match, they have arguably been guilty of playing too much where La Rochelle were happy to bring their physical advantage to the table and dominate the final quarter.

It would be grossly unfair to suggest that La Rochelle are a one-trick pony, but they were able to rely on power to reel Leinster in, once they got to grips with the Irish province’s ruck speed. This has been an area that Leinster have struggled with against the French club, where they have been in a winning position coming into the last 20 minutes, but have surrendered that advantage under intense pressure.

It was on a wet night in La Rochelle where Leinster turned the tables slightly as they focused on trying to stop La Rochelle rather than seeking to outplay them and did so to great effect. There is a tightrope to be walked between frustrating another team’s attack while keeping the scoreboard ticking over on your part.

The great American football coach Vince Lombardi said: “Winning isn’t everything, it’s the only thing.” Leinster don’t need to be perfect; they just need to win.

These are the matches they wanted where they’ll hope that Nienaber can impart some advice and direction that gets them over the line in a seminal knockout game against a team that has proved to be their knock-out nemesis. Key to that will be the ability to sustain standards from first to last whistle with no drop off.

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