DUBLIN — Leinster senior coach Jacques Nienaber expressed uncertainty about his future with the club and said he feels undervalued following the team's 41-19 loss to Bordeaux-Begles in the 2026 Champions Cup final in Bilbao on May 23, 2026. Nienaber, speaking to reporters for the first time since the defeat, questioned whether he would remain at the province despite being under contract until the end of the 2026-27 season.
"Your question is, am I going to be here? I hope so. Currently, I'm not sure, to be honest, because people don't value me here. They don't," Nienaber said.
He suggested that public and media pressure, rather than decisions by club leadership, ultimately determines a coach's tenure. "Let me put it to you this way: who fires you? Do you know who fires you? The public, the media. They fire you. Not the CEO, not Shane [Nolan]. He doesn't fire me, but you guys fire us. Fire all coaches, because the pressure builds up and builds up, and the fan then builds the pressure on them, and then they just ask this and say, 'listen lads, I think we must part ways'."
Nienaber joined Leinster as a senior coach at the end of 2023 after helping South Africa win back-to-back Rugby World Cups. Working alongside head coach Leo Cullen, he contributed to Leinster’s 2025 United Rugby Championship title. Cullen has said the club will conduct an in-depth operational review in summer 2026 following the Champions Cup final loss.