URC Coaching IQ Keeps Growing as Matfield Backs Nienabar to Make Leinster 'Even More Powerful'

South African legend Victor Matfield believes the recruitment of Springboks head coach Jacques Nienaber will make Leinster even more powerful.

And former Ireland star Gordon D’Arcy feels further top coaches of this kind of calibre are going to be drawn to the BKT United Rugby Championship in the future.

Nienaber will link up with the runaway league leaders after the World Cup, replacing ex-England boss Stuart Lancaster who is on his way to Racing 92.

Matfield, who won 127 caps and captained the 'Boks, gave his thoughts on the headline-grabbing appointment during a BKT URC media call ahead of the final round of league matches.

“As a coach, you have to manage your career very well,” said the former Bulls second row.

“Jacques has won the World Cup with South Africa, he was pretty successful at Munster. But if there is one place he can grow as a coach it will be in the Leinster system. They are probably the top club team in the world at the moment.

“From Leinster’s point of view, they dominated last year, but didn’t win a trophy. That’s something Jacques can bring to them. He understands how to win trophies, how to win big games. That’s a mentality that can make Leinster just more powerful.

“So I think it’s a good move for Jacques. He’s definitely going to grow as a coach and, from there, doors will just open for him, I believe.”

Adding his views during the BKT URC Media Round Table, D’Arcy echoed Matfield’s comments by predicting Nienaber can take Leinster up to another level again.

“I think it’s a really good and really smart appointment,” he said.

“He brings a different perspective and a different way of playing rugby.

“He will bring a completely, almost antagonistic viewpoint into the Leinster coaching. He has been in a World Cup final, he’s been a defensive coach. That will add an awful lot to the Leinster coaching team. The skill set he brings is going to be very important.

“Leinster didn’t make the BKT URC final last season and they have only won the Champions Cup once in the last ten years. So that will be very much at the forefront of their focus. They need to deliver the end product.

“In the modern game, you need a high quality coaching ticket to be able to deliver trophies. It’s a requirement in the BKT URC that if you want to be able to challenge it has to be a cohesive approach. You can’t just have a great group of players.

“We are going to see more and more coaching talent with that rugby IQ being drawn to the BKT URC because it is going to be a really hard trophy to win.”

On what the move will do for the 50-year-old Nienaber, former Leinster centre D’Arcy said: “It gets him into coaching in Ireland, which is the top-ranked team in the world. The Irish system is very good and appealing. People would want to look at how things are done here to see what they can learn and how it can challenge them as a coach.”

Table-topping Leinster are currently out in South Africa, completing the regular season in the BKT URC. They claimed a dramatic last-gasp 39-36 victory over the Emirates Lions in Johannesburg last weekend and now face the seventh-placed Vodacom Bulls at Pretoria's Loftus Versfeld this Saturday, as they look to maintain their campaign-long unbeaten record.

Looking ahead to that clash, Matfield said: “It’s a very important game for the Bulls. If they finish eighth, they won’t play in the Heineken Cup, so this is a really big game for them, as the Sharks, with all their Springboks back, should beat Munster down in Durban.

“I think the Bulls will be very focused. If they are playing well against this young Leinster, they should win the game, but Leinster are so well coached. Everyone knows exactly what they should do even if it’s the guy from the academy coming up to the main team. Their structures are so good, their culture is so good, so it’s not going to be an easy game.”