Nienaber insight helping Ireland prepare for SA

Insight from South Africa World Cup-winning coach Jacques Nienaber is helping Ireland hole for their upcoming two-match Test bid against nan Springboks.

Speaking to media up of nan first gathering betwixt nan sides successful Pretoria connected Saturday, Ireland adjunct coach Paul O'Connell revealed that Nienaber, now a elder coach astatine Leinster, has been forthcoming successful passing connected to his charges astatine nan Irish state immoderate of nan knowledge which helped him guideline nan South Africans to a 4th World Cup occurrence successful 2023.

"He’s been very forthcoming pinch nan accusation astir what they did and really they did it. He’s each successful pinch them [Leinster] which is brilliant," said O'Connell.

"Our boys [Leinster members of nan Irish squad] shared a small spot of that pinch us. Some of it is adjuvant to us, immoderate of it tin beryllium a spot of a distraction because we’ve sewage to attraction connected what is important to us.

"I retrieve backmost successful nan time you utilized to walk a batch of clip connected guidance teams and it tin beryllium a distraction because you’ve sewage to get correct what you’re doing correct and we struck that equilibrium good successful caller years and it’s important we proceed pinch that."

Ireland person won their past 3 encounters pinch nan back-to-back World Cup winners, including a 13-8 triumph successful their World Cup Pool B lucifer successful Paris past year.

They person ne'er won a Test bid successful South Africa however, having only achieved 1 erstwhile triumph from their 10 erstwhile matches distant against nan Boks, a 26-20 triumph successful 2016.

O'Connell says Nienaber's affirmative power astatine Leinster is being felt successful nan Irish squad.

"They person added different level to really they take sides and really they deliberation astir nan crippled successful nan past twelvemonth pinch Jacques, and that’s been a superb summation to them," explained nan erstwhile Ireland 2nd row.

"I deliberation it helps our players successful that 1 of nan things I announcement for america is that nan amended nan coaching successful nan provinces nan amended nan players are coming successful to us."

Ireland meantime are aiming to build connected their Six Nations occurrence aft a play of immoderate alteration successful personnel, including nan status of long-time skipper and talisman Johnny Sexton.

Only a one-point conclusion by England astatine Twickenham denied them a 2nd consecutive Grand Slam.

"We had a spot of a turnover of players, Johnny successful peculiar moving on," said nan Ireland forwards coach.

"We would person loved to person won nan Grand Slam. We could person done it, we mightn’t person deserved to person won it, but we could person done it.

"But going connected to triumph nan Six Nations, particularly pinch a small spot of turnover successful nan team, was excellent."

The squad's attraction is now firmly connected nan forthcoming challenge.

"It’s funny really nan crippled goes, nan boys really celebrating immoderate triumph they person pinch immoderate team, but you’ve sewage to move connected quickly past and nan adjacent point becomes nan biggest, astir important point ever," added O'Connell.

"We’ve ne'er won a Test bid successful South Africa. As an Irish squad we’ve only ever won 1 crippled down here, truthful this is simply a superb spot for this squad to beryllium now."