• ⁠Since they won the 2019 World Cup together, fans have been wondering if Jacques Nienaber or Rassie Erasmus is the best coach. The answer may be at hand!

• ⁠Rumour has it that Nienaber may become Ireland’s coach when Andy Farrell steps down, which means that Nienaber and Erasmus may be on a collision course.

Like two gunslingers in a Western movie heading for a final showdown, two of the great coaches of 21st-century rugby may soon face each other in a place named Tombstone, Dodge City, or, more likely, Ellis Park or the Aviva Stadium in Dublin.

It is strongly rumoured that Andy Farrell may step down as Ireland coach after the British and Irish Lions tour to Australia in June. Several candidates have been suggested as his successor, and the name Jacques Nienaber keeps popping up.

Assistant coach Simon Easterby will take charge of Ireland while Farrell is in Australia, overseeing the team during the Six Nations Championship. France are favourites, but other teams such as Ireland, Scotland and England (though not Wales or Italy) also stand a chance of winning.

If Easterby performs well, he will remain the leading candidate for the role. However, failure could open the door to one of the top jobs in international rugby.

Enter Leinster’s current defence coach Jacques Nienaber. Second to Leo Cullen, Nienaber is known as a meticulous planner who ensures there are no surprises when he steps onto the field.

As South Africans, we know he leaves nothing to chance. Nienaber is credited with managing the enormous logistical task of uniting players from all over the world into one cohesive, World Cup-winning Springbok team.

He is also said to have improved Leinster’s defensive strategies and introduced a more uncompromising approach to the game.

Ireland have played in all ten World Cup tournaments, reaching the semi-finals eight times but never claiming the trophy.

Managing logistics, strengthening defence, and bringing urgency to the game—are these not precisely the qualities Ireland needs to secure the Webb Ellis Cup, the prize they have never added to their trophy cabinet?

Irish great Alan Quinlan has remarked that Nienaber will be judged this year on Leinster’s performance in Europe.

“I’m sure if Andy Farrell was to step down or move aside, of course, he would come into the conversation,” said Quinlan.

Nienaber has spent much of his coaching career in Rassie Erasmus’s shadow. So far, however, he has stepped out boldly into the sunlight, proving himself to be as good as, if not better than, most international coaches. But is he better than Erasmus?

If he gets the Ireland job, it is only a matter of time before we witness the showdown of the century: Jacques Nienaber versus Rassie Erasmus, face to face across the whitewash.

Pictured above: Rassie Erasmus and Jacques Nienaber.

Source: SA Rugby