Rugby World Cup 2023: Jacques Nienaber - how exam failure re-routed South Africa coach

Nienaber took complaint of the satellite champion Springboks successful January 2020 and coached them to a bid triumph implicit the British and Irish Lions the pursuing year

Springbok manager Jacques Nienaber is reasoning backmost to the aforesaid point, 4 years ago.

The defending champions' past warm-up crippled this clip astir - an 80,000 sold-out superpower clash against New Zealand astatine Twickenham - feels different. But Nienaber sees similarities.

"Back successful 2019, though radical astir apt thought we were mad, Japan successful Japan was a bully crippled for america to person - purely due to the fact that we felt they were superior contenders," helium says.

"We ended up playing them successful the past 8 and, if you look astatine the gully this time, we volition astir apt beryllium playing either France oregon New Zealand successful the quarter-finals - if we get retired of our pool."

His caveat is not conscionable the accustomed articulator service. South Africa are connected the treacherous fractional of a lop-sided France 2023 draw.

Their excavation includes Ireland and Scotland who, similar South Africa, are ranked successful the apical 5 teams successful the world. Hosts France oregon three-time champions New Zealand are their apt quarter-final opposition.

"The bully happening is determination are nary 2 ways astir it," Nienaber says. "We are successful knockout rugby from crippled 1 erstwhile we play Scotland. That is the world of it."

This is Nienaber's first, and possibly only, changeable astatine starring a broadside to a Rugby World Cup title.

Nienaber moved into the caput manager relation aft serving arsenic adjunct to Rassie Erasmus during the Springboks' palmy 2019 campaign.

He volition depart for Leinster careless of whether their rubric defence succeeds oregon fails.

The 50-year-old volition walk the adjacent 9 weeks nether the spotlight - successful the anticipation of yet stepping retired of a shadow.

As a qualified physio, Nienaber would harvester his coaching with enactment arsenic an on-pitch medic, present astatine the Stormers and aboriginal during his clip arsenic South Africa's adjunct coach

Nienaber was ne'er truly a rugby player. He went to Grey College, a Bloemfontein schoolhouse that has moulded a agelong enactment of Boks.

When asked which, if any, of his schoolhouse contemporaries went connected to play for their country, determination are truthful galore Nienaber is acrophobic helium mightiness hide a sanction oregon two.

"Heinrich Fuls, Pieter Muller, Ollie le Roux, Werner Swanepoel, Ruben Kruger - they were determination successful my era," helium says.

Scrum-half Cobus Reinach, portion of the squad Nienaber has picked for France, besides went to Grey.

• BBC Sport goes down the scenes astatine Grey College - 'the Springbok Factory'
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Unlike them though, Nienaber was nary schoolhouse star.

"I ever loved rugby, enjoyed rugby and played rugby, but I played for the seventh squad astatine Grey," helium says.

"Middle region and transverse state was my main thing, and being a runner I wasn't blessed with the framework oregon the size to play it.

"I was a escaped forward. I would accidental my conditioning helped maine astatine the backmost extremity of the game, but size-wise I was a small spot retired of my depths."

He could easy person near rugby down astatine school. Had helium got the grades helium wanted, helium would person done so.

Instead, aft missing retired connected the physiotherapy people helium wanted to prosecute astatine university, helium opted to hold a year, reapply and fulfil the subject work that was compulsory successful South Africa successful the meantime.

It was a determination that changed his life.

Nienaber's schoolhouse person besides enlisted and introduced Nienaber to his caller room-mate - a teenage Erasmus.

"We were young, we were bulletproof, we were naughty, afloat of energy, akin to what we are now, though I deliberation we are a small much calculated now!," Nienaber remembers.

"Rassie was similar helium is present - an unbelievable character; ever amusive to beryllium around, ever having a joke, a spot of a prank, having a beer, having a laugh."

The brace were portion of the aforesaid four-man crew, successful complaint of a Rooikat armoured car.

"There was a driver, a gunner, a loader, and idiosyncratic successful charge.

"My fertile was corporal and Rassie became a lieutenant, helium was a small spot amended than maine astatine the service stuff!"

Their paths person been intertwined ever since, usually successful akin style, with Erasmus arsenic a frontman, and Nienaber successful the background.

After Erasmus moved from playing to coaching, helium recruited Nienaber, duly qualified arsenic a physio, into his backroom staff.

At Free State, the Stormers and Munster, Nienaber worked nether Erasmus, applying his caput to tightening defences arsenic good arsenic easing muscles.

Erasmus and Nienaber during their clip with Munster successful 2016

Finally successful January 2020, Erasmus stepped speech and Nienaber took connected his archetypal caput manager role, starring the satellite champions.

Of the galore lessons helium has learned successful astir 30 years alongside Erasmus, possibly the astir invaluable was the first. The 1 carved into his representation successful the cramped confines of an armoured car.

"I was brought up privileged successful being capable to spell to Grey College - but I didn't cognize different parts of South Africa, you are precise secluded successful Bloemfontein," helium says.

"In the service you person to squad up, beryllium dependent. You can't bash it connected your ain successful that car, everyone has got their ain job.

"One feline mightiness travel retired of a precise agrarian farming community, the different mightiness beryllium a surfer from Durban, and the operator mightiness beryllium a feline who fell retired of high-school due to the fact that helium comes from a precise atrocious background.

"In the army, you can't look down connected anyone, due to the fact that erstwhile your beingness depends connected it, that idiosyncratic has to travel done for you.

"It doesn't substance what schoolhouse helium went to, whether helium has wealth oregon not, if helium is good spoken, oregon if helium loves to fume a associated present and then, you person to find a mode to enactment together.

"In immoderate ways it is precisely similar that now. In our squad situation we are antithetic socio-economically, otherwise culturally and otherwise religiously, but we request to align to a program and fulfil your portion successful it."

Nienaber has plotted a way backmost to the apical of the satellite crippled for Springboks' dense artillery. The adjacent 2 months volition specify if helium tin depart with his ngo accomplished.

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