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Jacques Nienaber understands 'frustration and anger' of Leinster fans

Updated / Tuesday, 6 May 2025 08:38
Jordie Barrett started on the bench for Leinster's loss to Northampton
Jordie Barrett started on the bench for Leinster's loss to Northampton

Leinster senior coach Jacques Nienaber says he understands the anger of fans following the team's latest European exit.

Last Champions Cup winners in 2018, Leinster have contested four finals and two semi-finals since.

After losing narrowly in three straight deciders between 2022 and 2024, the four-time winners lost a thrilling semi-final to Northampton Saints on Saturday, 37-34.

Leinster were overwhelming favourites to repeat the result from 12 months previous when Leo Cullen’s men saw off the Saints.

However, the hosts’ famed defence disintegrated and they conceded five tries, four in the first half.

Cullen opted to leave marquee signing Jordie Barrett on the bench, while top loosehead prop Andrew Porter and Lions number 8 Jack Conan also started among the replacements.

Jordie Barrett replaced Robbie Henshaw in the 49th minute

In addition, two late kickable penalties, which would likely have brought the game to extra time, were declined in favour of attempts at a winning try.

Some Leinster fans were unhappy with both the selections and on-field decisions.

Speaking to RTÉ Sport on Monday afternoon, Nienaber said hindsight was "perfect science" and that the management team stood by their decisions.

"What would my message be to the Leinster fans?

"The thing that probably hurts the most is the fact that I think...the players have full control, but as coaches we have some control because we have half-time, substitutions and that.

"For the fans, they don’t have control. The only thing that they can give is their full support.

"If you look at the fans they gave everything they could. I can understand the frustration and the anger. That’s probably the thing that sickens us the most, for ourselves, the performance we put in.

"Unfortunately, the fans have to live with that, the result we got, which wasn’t what we wanted. In terms of the team selection, as coaches we select the team we think will get us a result.

"If you look at all the games this season, that’s been the philosophy. Hindsight is always perfect science.

"If we win the game nobody would have asked these questions and it would be, 'oh, what a brilliant tactic’.

"Lose the game and you have to live with the consequences of your decision. The second half, we won 19-10, so [a strong finish] was what we were looking for.

"At the end of the day we selected a team we thought will get us the result, it didn’t and we will just have to live with the criticism we get.

"Going for the three [points], same thing there.

"You go for the three and let’s say you miss the kick, people will say, ‘you scored four tries with taking penalties five metres out’.

"In that moment they got a yellow card, if we didn’t convert the kick, people would say, ‘they had 14, why didn’t you go for the win?’

"Now, because we couldn’t score with the tap penalty or the maul I would probably say maybe we should have gone for the three.

"I can see both sides of the coin."

After Leinster declined the first penalty chance, Josh van der Flier was denied a try when Alex Coles illegally stopped him close to the line, while Ross Byrne also touched the ball down on the tryline.

The Saints forward was sent to the bin and another penalty awarded, however, the reason for not awarding a penalty try was not clear.

"[The officials] obviously went through a thorough process, they had enough time and angles and expertise to get to the right decision," added the South African.

"I just have to trust that they got to the right decision and my opinion if the decision is right or wrong doesn’t actually count."

Leinster can cement top place in the BKT URC table, and a home run in the knockout phases, if they beat second-from-last Zebre on Saturday.

Watch Leinster v Zebre in the URC on Saturday from 5.10pm on the RTÉ News Channel and RTÉ Player. Listen to updates on Saturday Sport on RTÉ Radio 1

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