Kolisi sends a special message to Nienaber: “We love you”
As Springbok coach Jacques Nienaber prepares to leave the team, captain Siya Kolisi has shared another special tribute.
For the Springboks, winning the World Cup was simply a fairytale farewell for Jacques Nienaber, who is now leaving his position as head coach. Siya Kolisi shares a special message to the Springboks coach.
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It’s already been confirmed that Nienaber will step down from his position as Springbok head coach after the World Cup campaign to further his career at Leinster, where he will replace Stuart Lancaster as a senior coach.
Nienaber has been in charge of 39 Tests as head coach, with a win percentage of 68.
Nienaber’s involvement with SA Rugby and the Boks date back more than a decade to 2011, when he joined the national coaching team as a defensive consultant in 2011.
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The 51-year-old Nienaber was part of the Bok management at the Rugby World Cup in 2011, worked as a member of SA Rugby’s Mobi Unit after that and joined the national coaching team again in 2018, before taking over as head coach in 2020 after the RWC triumph in Japan in 2019.
As Springbok head coach, Nienaber oversaw the series victory over the British & Irish Lions in 2021, with his crowning glory last Saturday when South Africa claimed back-to-back Rugby World Cup titles after a nail-biting final victory over the All Blacks in Paris.
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Kolisi, who was named Springbok captain for the first time in 2018 and led South Africa for the 53rd time in the RWC final on Saturday, was full of adulation for Nienaber and the entire management after the match.
“It hasn’t been an easy journey – I can’t believe what we’ve achieved today,” said Kolisi.
“The coaching staff have been ridiculous. I have worked with Jacques since I was 17 years old. I couldn’t tackle. When him and Rassie [Erasmus] used to come to training [at DHL Western Province] it was full contact. You had to show that you could do this.
“Since then, it’s just been amazing how he used to motivate us in games. We grew up around him – me and Frans [Malherbe], Steven [Kitshoff] and Pieter-Steph [du Toit].
“As I said last week, he cared about us as people. He would ask, ‘are you going to let your daughter down, your son down?’ It became far deeper than just a rugby game.
“Jacques, honestly, it’s been a huge honour for me and a huge privilege. To you and your wife and the kids, I appreciate you.
“We love you as a team, not as a coach, but as a person. You’ve taken it to another level. The way you speak to us – it’s not ‘make a big hit, make a tackle’, you talk to me as a person, as a father, a husband, as a son, it goes such a long way so thank you. We honour you as a team. All the best. They will be lucky too have you wherever you go.”
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YOU CAN WATCH SIYA KOLISI AND COACH NIENABER BELOW:
‘It’s so special to be known as a person and not just and object or a rugby player’
Siya Kolisi on my Jacques Nienaber is so special pic.twitter.com/WuzcQZDBU9
— Rugby Bits (@RugbyBits) October 23, 2023
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SAD TO SEE THE SPRINGBOK COACH GO
Kolisi was asked about his relationship with Nienaber ahead of the upcoming farewell week.
“I was 18 years old. I was contracted with the Cheetahs and then I was able to go to Western Province. That is when I met Jacques,” Kolisi explained. “He and coach Rassie used to come to the institute, the Western Province Academy. That is where our foundation as a group [began].
“When Jacques came it was the full contact there and you had to show who you are. Every time they came it was intense. I got to know him then and as I went on he became my senior coach and one thing I love about him is he goes far deeper than what is happening on the field. He got to know me, my family and why I do what I do. He speaks to us with human courtesy.
“They don’t encourage us to tackle hard – we all know what that is. He knows my kids by name, asks me how I am doing as a person and that is why I can go and give him everything on the field because he cares about the person, he cares about Siya from the township. For the teams, especially in big moments, he talks about each and every player’s journey.
“It is so special to be known as a person not just as an object or a rugby player. That’s what he brings to this team. And the fact that he allows families to be around, how much he loves to see our kids running around. I know some teams are not allowed to have families, but that is what he creates, that family environment.
“I have enjoyed every single year that I’ve worked with him. The tough times too, when he comes and calls me out. He is always honest. I can’t explain how much I have enjoyed it.
“He and coach Rassie [Erasmus] love the country. Wherever he goes, they are going to be lucky. The detail he puts in, it makes life so much easier. All I have to do is watch a screen to see what opportunities are there. He’s a special coach and a special human being, an amazing father and a great husband. I will always be thankful. When I first met him I couldn’t tackle.”