Jacques Nienaber didn’t miss a beat when asked if he was in the running for Leinster job

Jacques Nienaber anticipated the line of inquiry and cut it off with a smile and a few carefully chosen words. No gain, no traction, as befits a brilliant defence coach. Instead, there was Just a diplomatic response to whether he will contend for the head coaching role that Leo Cullen vacates at the end of the season.

Spoiler alert. He didn’t say yes and he didn’t say no. Here’s what he did say: “It’s a process that Leinster is busy with and I’m sure the moment that all the parties are comfortable with an announcement, it will be announced and it will be in the media. But currently, it’s a process and let’s just leave it like that.”