Western Province will not release Nienaber
Western Province of the South African Premiership Rugby League has said that they will not release defensive coach Jacques Nienaber to the South African Springboks.
The Springboks were interested in having Nienaber helping them with coaching duties during the next three Tri-Nations games.
The Boks have three important Tri-Nations tests coming up, the first of which is against New Zealand on 21 August.
The Boks are holding a training camp this week for 29 players, and were interested in Nienaber joining them from that point, perhaps until the end of the tournament.
Unfortunately for the Boks their timing could not have been worse, as Western Province has an important Currie Cup match-up scheduled for this weekend.
Western Province is set to take on their archrival the Blue Bulls over the weekend, and are looking to maintain every advantage they can.
Province currently sits at the top of the Currie Cup table with 23 points, while the Bulls sit third with 16 points. Province would be able to widen their lead on the field, as well as damage the Bulls chances of qualifying for the second-round with a victory this weekend.
The undefeated Western Province is not interested in tarnishing their perfect record, and believe that losing Nienaber would increase the chances of dropping the match.
Western Province’s managing director Rob Wagner echoed these sentiments saying, “Jacques met with Peter De Villiers to explore whether there is a way for him to help the Boks in the future. He then reported back to us. We are at a crucial stage of the Currie Cup and it will unfortunately infringe on his duties here. We therefore can’t see our way clear of releasing him.”
Western Province’s director of coaching Rassie Erasmus agreed with the managing director stating, “We considered it, but it will be difficult. The notice was too short and it will be disruptive in the middle of a competition.”
Tags: