Nienaber & Irish Eyes in Leinster are Smiling

Double World Cup winner Jacques Nienaber and Leinster can still dream of a fifth star that has proved so elusive in the Investec Champions Cup. They have beaten Toulon to make another final.

Nienaber coached the Springboks to World Cup glory in 2023 and was assistant coach when the Springboks won the World Cup in 2019.

INVESTEC CHAMPIONS CUP

Last season he enjoyed his first title with Leinster in the United Rugby Championship final win against the Bulls in Dublin, but in his first two seasons at the club, the challenge of the Investec Champions Cup title ended with heartbreak. Post Nienaber’s arrival in Dublin, Leinster lost the first one in extra time and last season lost to Northampton Saints at home in the semi-final.

This time the result looked locked and secured at 29-11 with 10 minutes to play, but this is club rugby’s toughest and greatest competition and Toulon, the only club to win three successive titles, were not raising any white flags.

The visitors struck twice in five minutes to reduce the scoreline to 29-25, with three minutes to play.

The bookies had Leinster as 11 point winners. I had them to win by 20. They ended up winning by four and had it not been for a cover tackle from Leinster’s All Blacks winger Rieko Ioane in the final two minutes, it may have been the most crushing defeat for Leinster.

What looked to be a five-star scoreline so nearly turned into a disaster for Leinster in Dublin, but all that mattered at the final whistle for the Irish club was a winning scoreline in their Investec Championship Cup semi-final against Toulon.

Leinster will play the winner of Bordeaux v Bath, with that match played in Bordeaux on Sunday afternoon.

Bordeaux are the defending champions.

On balance, Leinster were comfortably the better side, but the way the match played out in the final 10 minutes has been a consistent with the side’s performances all season, in all competitions.

Leinster, uncharacteristically, have lost six in 16 URC league matches this season, and in the Investec Champions Cup Pool rounds they experienced some late escapes to make it through to the play-offs.

Their Round 16 and quarter-final results were never in doubt, and this one should not have been either.

Toulon scraped past the Stormers in the last 16 and shocked Glasgow’s Warriors in the quarter-final.

They are a team whose form has been indifferent in the Top 14 and they have lost as many matches as they have won.

But they have found something extra in the Investec Champions Cup this season and they were damn close to conjuring up a miracle in those final 10 minutes.

Andrew Porter and Caelan Doris react post-match:

Investec Player of the Match, Andrew Porter spoke to press after the game:

“It’s incredible to see how we stuck in 13 men in the first-half going into the second… we dug it out”, he mentioned.

“They definitely brought it to us throughout the whole 80 minutes.”

Back in the side for the first time since the Sale Sharks game in the Round of 16, Porter praised what was a special afternoon:

“It’s incredible being back here, you could feel the energy today.

“It’s incredibly special what we’re doing, but there’s still a lot of work to do”, he ended.

Investec Player of the Year nominee and captain Caelan Doris was equally delighted post-match:

“I’m sure the crowd and coaches were on the edge of their seats, but we’re delighted to be in another Final. This season hasn’t been perfect – we’ve had quite a few battles. It felt good out there – even when it was tough and we were down to 13 – there’s good composure.”

“We had match point,” said Pierre Mignoni, Toulon’s Director of Rugby. But unfortunately we dropped the ball. That’s how it is, that’s elite sport, that’s life, that’s rugby.”

LEINSTER

Tries: Jack Conan, Josh van der Flier, Garry Ringrose, Caelan Doris. Conversions: Harry Byrne (3). Penalty: Harry Byrne.

TOULON

Tries: Seta Tuicuvu, Baptiste Serin, Gaël Drean. Conversions: Melvyn Jaminet (2). Penalties: Melvyn Jaminet (2).

EPCR Investec Champions Cup match report