Jacques Nienaber will experience the Investec Champions Cup final for the second time with Leinster after helping the Irish giants beat Toulon in Dublin on Saturday.
A two-time World Cup winner with South Africa, Nienaber joined the club as senior coach in November 2023, and now has an opportunity to add to his Vodacom URC winner’s medal after a nail-biting 29-25 win at the Aviva Stadium.
Leinster overcame an astonishing fightback by Toulon to reach the decider of Europe’s premier club competition. Leo Cullen’s men, four-time Champions Cup winners, were cruising to victory at 29-11 with just 13 minutes left.
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Toulon, however, reduced that deficit to a mere four points with four minutes remaining after a try by Gael Drean was converted by Melvyn Jaminet.
Leinster flankers Jack Conan and Josh van der Flier scored first-half tries, while centre Garry Ringrose and captain Caelan Doris also crossed Toulon’s line.
Flyhalf Harry Byrne kicked a penalty and three conversions.
French club Toulon, themselves three-time European champions, were just 14-11 behind at half-time.
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But in the end tries from Seta Tuicuvu, Baptiste Serin and Drean, plus two conversions and two penalties from Jaminet penalties, were not quite enough to secure what would have been a stunning win.
Leinster clung on in the closing stages to reach their ninth final in the Champions Cup history.
“You know a team like Toulon will up things at some stage,” Leinster skipper Doris told Premier Sports.
“They started to throw it around and some stuff came off. A tough fixture.
“Massive effort from everyone to reach another final. It feels good out there this season.”
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For Toulon it was a question of what might have been. At one point Leinster had two players in the sin bin but they were unable to take advantage.
And in the last minute, the irrepressible Drean produced a threatening break down the right before his pass inside was spilt forward.
“We had match point,” said a frustrated 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.
“Not many people thought we could win here. We weren’t far off but now we have to work to get back into the Champions Cup next season.”
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Leinster’s success also ended a four-match losing streak against Toulon – the only team they had previously played more than once and never beaten since turning professional in 1995.
They are now into their fourth Champions Cup final in five seasons but Leinster have not lifted the trophy since the last of their quartet of titles in 2018.
Since then they have suffered four final defeats and two semi-final reverses, including last year’s 37-34 last-four loss to Northampton Saints.
Leinster will play the winners of Sunday’s second semi-final between reigning European champions Bordeaux-Begles and Bath in a final in Bilbao, northern Spain, on May 23.
LEINSTER – Tries: Jack Conan, Josh van der Flier, Garry Ringrose, Caelan Doris. Conversions: Harry Byrne (3). Penalties: Harry Byrne.
TOULON –Tries: Seta Tuicuvu, Baptiste Serin, Gaël Drean. Conversions: Melvyn Jaminet (2). Penalties: Melvyn Jaminet (2).
Photo: Laszlo Geczo/INPHO
The post Nienaber’s Leinster hold out to book final spot appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.
