Johann van Graan will drink to a career-long friendship with Leinster counterpart Jacques Nienaber on Saturday night — but only after he tries to sink the Irish side’s blitz defence in their Champions Cup clash at the Aviva Stadium.
The two South Africans first crossed swords in Currie Cup combat during three successive Finals from 2004 to 2006, then combining with the Springboks, before Van Graan followed Nienaber to Munster.
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Despite an ill-fated reign at Munster, Van Graan now helms a free-scoring table-topping Bath side but they will face a forbidding test against Leinster’s suffocating defence.
“That’s a trap you can fall into because if you try to do things differently, you can forget about what you can do well,” he warns.
“There is no weakness in their team. They have a very good scrum, a very good maul, fantastic set-piece plays, they get you in defence, and they have some of the best players in the world. We respect that.
“We average nearly 40 points and five tries a game, we have come up against blitz defence in the Premiership. We can play in many different ways and we need to get selection right.
“Why wouldn’t you want to test yourself against a team who have played in the last three Finals of the competition?
“I say the same as last year before Toulouse. Leinster are a phenomenal team, what they’ve done in how they’ve built the club from the schools system to the Champions Cup. 22 of that team is going to the Ireland team in the Six Nations which is incredible really. They’ve no weaknesses. We’ve spoken about it during the week.
“You have two choices. Speak about them the whole time because there is so much to say because they are so good. Or focus on what we need to do and enjoy our journey. And we have chosen the latter.
“We have loved this short week, the training, we have finished there. It’s a great stadium, we are very respectful of our opponents and the coaching group and what they have achieved. Ultimately it is a great game to look forward to.
“We’re playing away from home against the current URC leaders and we are sitting top of the Premiership. It is another sub-plot. I have been involved in test matches on that stadium, Leinster versus Munster there.
“My last Champions Cup game in that stadium was the phenomenal Toulouse game where we lost on penalties. A phenomenal stadium to play rugby in. One of the stadiums in world rugby and we are really looking forward to it.”
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Van Graan’s Munster were repeatedly thwarted in knockout rugby by Leinster and he only managed to beat them twice in five years over 13 matches.
“The difference for me is Munster versus Leinster, you’ve got the emotional bit, it’s an Irish derby, whereas this is an English team versus an Irish team,” he adds.
“There will be emotion but the teams don’t play against each other a lot. We had a taste against them last season in a warm-up game.
“I’d say the biggest difference is definitely their linespeed — that has obviously changed a lot. Obviously, whoever they pick, they can pick so many guys, but Sam Prendergast at 10 is very different to Johnny Sexton in terms of the way he plays. Two very quality players in their own right.
“I’d say the other thing that has changed is that Leinster have got even more depth now. It doesn’t really matter who they pick. They’re a quality side. As I said, you could speak a lot about them but we’ll enjoy ourselves on Saturday evening.
And he will enjoy meeting up with former colleague Nienaber.
“He was with the Cheetahs and I was at the Bulls. He started as a physio and a defence coach and I was a technical adviser.
“In those days, we both ran the touchline on the far side of the pitch and I fondly recall those days. Three Currie Cup Finals in a row. And then he went in with Rassie at Stormers.
“We worked at the Boks for a few years and we had a tough series against Ireland in 2016. Ireland won at Newlands, we won in Ellis and it went down to the final pass in Port Elizabeth.
“Jacques went to Ireland and then I did. He is definitely one of the best coaches I have come across in terms of passion for the game, always wanting to learn more. He is always heart and soul. And you can see that in the Leinster defence.
“He has definitely got to the heart of that team. And look, to cut a very long story short, I can’t speak highly enough of Jacques. He is a class coach.”