Leinster have confirmed the appointment of Springbok head coach Jacques Nienaber to their coaching team, following the conclusion of the Rugby World Cup in France.
The World Cup winner will replace Stuart Lancaster as senior coach, with the Englishman joining Racing 92 in Paris this summer.
Nienaber previously served as assistant coach to Rassie Erasmus at Munster from 2016 to 2017, before following Erasmus back to South Africa, where they teamed up to bring the Springboks to World Cup glory in 2019.
The 50-year-old has served as head coach of South Africa since 2020, when Erasmus moved up into the role of director of rugby.
The appointment of a serving international head coach represents a major coup for the four-time European champions, while it also creates a fascinating dynamic over the coming months, with Ireland and South Africa in the same pool at the World Cup, facing off in Pool B on Saturday 23 September in Paris.
"We're hugely excited by the prospect of Jacques joining us," Cullen told RTÉ Sport's Michael Corcoran about the appointment.
"We’ve been back and forth over the last while so yeah, a good, exciting day for Leinster Rugby.
"[He’s] someone who brings unbelievable experience and the fact that he has experienced Ireland as well is a huge help. He has an idea what he is getting himself in for as well.
"You think of the experience Jacques has had with the Springboks, winning a World Cup four years ago, leading the team into that Lions series during that Covid period - it was a very, very difficult series for lots of different reasons as we know.
"The experience that he is going to bring to the group is going to be fantastic."
The province had been looking for a new coach since Stuart Lancaster's departure was announced back in September.
Several high-profile names were linked with Lancaster's role, among them soon-to-be All Blacks boss Scott Robertson, Leinster's current attack coach Andrew Goodman, and even captain Johnny Sexton's name was touted for a role in the group when he retires later this year.
Leinster's appointment of Nienaber comes as a major surprise, with the South African not having been linked with the role.
Having previously held assistant roles at the Stormers and Springboks, Nienaber joined Munster in 2016 as defence coach, helping bring the province to the semi-finals of the Champions Cup, as well as the final of the Pro12, where they were beaten by Scarlets.
He spent just 18 months at Munster, before following Erasmus back to South Africa, working as an assistant as the Boks won the Rugby Championship in 2019, their first for 10 years, before they followed it up with a World Cup success later that year.
Since stepping up to head coach duties, the defence specialist's early tenure was heavily disrupted by Covid-19, but he did lead the Boks to a 2-1 series win against the British and Irish Lions in 2021.
Cullen was speaking from South Africa ahead of Saturday's BKT United Rugby Championship clash with the Emirates Lions, live on RTÉ2 and the RTÉ Player.
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"We were in South Africa last year with a young enough group, a lot of lads making their debuts. We have Sam [Prendergast] making his debut later today.
"The work that went into that Tour, in many ways you could see the benefits over the course of this season. That's what we're hoping for, something similar.
"The experience will hopefully stand to these players so they're better equipped to deal with some of the challenges when they come next season in particular.
"But then we've got some experienced players that want to put their hands up for selection for some of the big games we've coming up as well, so we have a nice mix."
Watch a URC triple header on Saturday, Emirates Lions v Leinster (3pm), DHL Stormers v Munster (5.15pm) and Connacht v Cardiff (7.35pm).
Follow a live blog of Stormers v Munster on the RTÉ News app or RTÉ.ie/Sport.
