Former Bok coach Jacques Nienaber has given his blessing to the appointment of former Irish international and Harlequins defence coach Jerry Flannery to the Springbok team.
Nienaber, who was head coach but also led the Boks’ defense as they won consecutive Rugby World Cup titles, is supposedly replaced by Flannery. However, Nienaber chose to become the defense coach at Leinster instead.
The loss of Nienaber was devastating for the Springboks, but the World Champions didn’t waste any time in reorganizing and bringing back coach Rassie Erasmus for a four-year term. This will allow them to try and pull off the incredible feat of winning three World Cup titles in a row.
More information about the Springboks’ deployment will be made public next month. Erasmus strengthened the team’s management quickly, adding Flannery and Tony Brown, a former assistant coach for Japan who he trained at the Stormers.
Felix Jones, who is currently the defensive coach for England, was also lost by the Boks.
Before Erasmus and Nienaber left Munster in 2018 to take up coaching positions with the Bok, Flannery and Jones served as their assistant coaches.
At a late-night news conference on Monday, Nienaber expressed his approval and said that Flannery was present at the Bok camp during their preparations for last year’s World Cup championship defense in France.
“It goes without saying that he would be well familiar with Rassie’s methods because they closely resemble our methods from our time at Munster. Jerry truly helped us prepare for the World Cup for a while. According to Nienaber, “I believe he spent a week or two with the Boks there.”
“The players would recognize him, and he is aware of how the setting functions. They will be familiar with him. In fact, he gave us some minor assistance with the hookers. With his line-out throws, he provided value because he is an international hooker. only adding what he observed.
In addition, Nienaber stated that he thought both moves would benefit the Springboks and help them advance in the face of other teams vying for their scalp following their World Cup triumph.
“I believe Jerry will benefit from this opportunity and that the Boks will benefit from having him.” Both Tony Brown and him are, in my opinion, very good appointments. They will benefit the squad in some way. I believe he’ll fit in well in South Africa.
As defense coach, Nienaber continued, saying he had seen a lot of Flannery’s work and thought he would fit right in.
“One of the teams we visited during our club trips with international players was Harlequins. They welcomed our presence at all times, whether it was to observe their workouts, team meetings, or training sessions.
“Jerry’s work as a defense coach there impressed me, and I believe he’ll fit in well in South Africa.”
Nienaber, meanwhile, grinned and called Ireland’s performance in their Six Nations match against Italy on Sunday “beautiful.”
“I found it to be rather lovely. After, I texted the boys. He remarked, “I just said that zero does look beautiful.”
“Any defense coach would find that to be a work of art. However, it is evident that the pressure you apply from an offensive stance causes that. Italy has to take more chances and shots from deeper range when under pressure from the scoreboard, as Ireland did. This puts them in a better position, so it is always a beautiful zero.
