There won’t be a South African team in the Investec Champions Cup quarter-finals but there will be two of South Africa’s brightest coaching minds on display in Dublin on Friday night when Leinster Rugby hosts Glasgow’s Warriors as they compete to continue their Road to Cardiff 25.
Franco Smith, a former Springbok flyhalf and centre, coaches the Warriors, having had a previous spell as coach of the Italian national side. Smith played a lot of his latter career in Italy.
Jacques Nienaber, assistant to Rassie Erasmus in the Springboks 2019 World Cup title win and the head coach in the 2023 World Cup title win, joined Irish giants Leinster post the 2023 World Cup, and his defensive nous, attention to detail and suffocating attacks have been prominent in Leinster’s Investec Champions Cup matches this season.
Leinster were brilliant in shutting out Harlequins 62-0 in the round of 16 and Nienaber would have taken as much pleasure, if not more, from his team not conceding a point, as the fans would have been from the 10-try attacking masterclass.
Nienaber and Erasmus previously coached Munster and before that were at the helm of the DHL Stormers. Both also started their coaching careers with the Free State Cheetahs.
Nienaber said it would take time to make, what he called adjustments, to a Leinster approach that has brought so much success over the last decade, but could only benefit from fresh ideas, a different mindset and a World Cup-winning coaching pedigree.
Leinster are favourites whenever playing in Dublin and seldom start a match, home or away, not expecting to win.
Smith’s Warriors have started to mature into one of Europe’s top club sides and they have shown that championship-winning quality of being able to win away from home.
Smith guided the Warriors to last season’s United Rugby Championship title in Pretoria, South Africa, when his team, led by South African born and raised winger Kyle Steyn, stunned the Vodacom Bulls at Loftus Versfeld.
The Bulls are South Africa’s only remaining team in the EPCR Challenge Cup quarter-finals, and they play Edinburgh, who are coached by South African Sean Everitt and have a popular South African presence in the former Bulls prop Pierre Schoeman, who has been a standout for Scotland in the last few years.
Bulls coach Jake White and Everitt have a great friendship and coaching history, with the latter having worked with White at the Hollywood Bets Sharks a few years ago, then briefly with White at the Bulls, before taking up the head coaching job at Edinburgh.
Johann van Graan, the former Springbok assistant coach, has been inspirational in turning Bath from basement dwellers in the Premiership to table-toppers, and his Bath match 23s invariably have a strong South African influence.
Van Graan succeeded Erasmus and Nienaber at Munster before accepting the Bath top job, and his impact was immediate.
South African players and coaches historically have enjoyed lots of success, for clubs outside of South Africa in the Investec Champions Cup and EPCR Challenge Cup, and this weekend will be no exception with the inclusion of South African players and coaches.
And even on those weekends, when there is only one South African team involved, there is so much South African going around to ensure that all South African rugby eyes will be on the Investec Champions Cup, and particularly the EPCR Challenge Cup.
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