Leinster travelled to South Africa this past Saturday without their Ireland internationals to acclimatise ahead of their United Rugby Championship (URC) match against the Bulls at Loftus Versfeld.
Jacques Nienaber, former Springbok coach and now senior coach at the Irish powerhouse, revealed on Monday that they are still waiting on clearance from the Irish squad to see which players they will get back.
As things currently stand, they will face a Bok-laden Bulls without their top players in Pretoria on Saturday afternoon.
“We travelled over here on Saturday, and we literally watched their game at the airport,” Nienaber said.
“They’ve finished their game and (now) we are getting feedback from the Irish physios and medical staff regarding injuries and management protocols. If there are any protocols we have to follow, the majority of the group who played against the Ospreys and Cardiff are here.
“We are hopeful some of the lads who participated in the Six Nations can join us.”
Nienaber added that they’ve divided the squad into three groups at the moment. Those available to them, those who have played plenty of minutes for Ireland in the European international tournament and fringe Irish players who didn’t pick up a lot of playing minutes.
A group of 24 to 25 players have played in the Six Nations and their return to the squad is being treated on a case-by-case basis.
“Everybody is not here yet, but they will filter in as they are cleared that side. We could have some of them back next week, but we’ll wait and see,” he added.
Nienaber, smiling broadly in an online press conference with a strong contingent of SA media, expressed excitement for the challenge that Loftus Versfeld and the Bulls present.
“We have good momentum, but the key thing will be to just focus on the Bulls and get over the flight. We already had our first session today (Monday) to ensure we are well-prepared. It will be a case of not looking back at what happened in the past (losing to the Bulls), but also not looking too far ahead in the future and thinking about Europe and European games.
“Let’s just focus on playing the Bulls. We are facing two tough South African sides, including the Sharks. They are third and fourth on the log. Our biggest challenge on Saturday will be facing a very good team. We came unstuck against them.
“They are a very well-organised and settled team with a lot of international experience.”
