Jacques Nienaber: Springboks head coach to replace Stuart Lancaster at Leinster

South Africa back Damian Willemse and Jacques Nienaber celebrate November's win over England

South Africa head coach Jacques Nienaber will replace Stuart Lancaster at Leinster after the World Cup.

Senior coach Lancaster is leaving the Irish side at the end of the season to join Racing 92.

Nienaber has been in charge of the Springboks since January 2020 after working as an assistant coach under Rassie Erasmus.

"It's an honour to join Leinster and I look forward to contributing to that after the World Cup," he said.

Working under Erasmus, Nienaber helped South Africa win the 2019 World Cup and also served as Erasmus' assistant coach at Munster from 2016 to 2017.

He added: "The anticipation and excitement are building as we prepare to defend the Rugby World Cup title.

"It continues to be an amazing time with the Springboks and it's a privilege to be involved in my third World Cup after 2011 and 2019. Being in a World Cup year my focus will be back on defending the title back-to-back.

"It is always hard to leave an institution that have provided you with so much honour, joy and fulfilment but the only constant in life is change. At the end of the World Cup myself and my family will leave to Ireland to join up with Leinster Rugby.

"When the time is right, I will be looking forward to new and exciting challenges. Leinster is renowned as a quality and high-performance environment."

Leinster head coach Leo Cullen coach is delighted to bring Nienaber to Dublin.

He said: "Jacques is a world-class coach with a winning track record at the very highest level of the game, and we're all looking forward to learning from him over the coming seasons.

"With the addition of the South African teams to the URC and the Heineken Champions Cup, Jacques' in-depth knowledge and experience of working with the Springboks will be a great addition to the group."