Ireland will march on, says World Cup winner Pienaar FULL INTERVIEW: Pages 54-55
Ulster legend says Ireland can still go long way in World Cup despite defeat by Japan
FORMER Ulster star Ruan Pienaar has backed Ireland to bounce back from their World Cup shock at the hands of Japan. Joe Schmidt’s men are in action again this morning against Russia in Kobe (11.15am) having endured a difficult week after a shock 19-12 loss to the hosts last Saturday.
Pienaar (right), who was part of the South Africa side that reached the semi-finals of the last World Cup despite a similar loss to the Japanese, doesn’t believe the defeat will define Ireland’s journey.
“The week after our Japan loss was one of the toughest of my career and I’m sure all of the guys that were involved would say the same thing,” said the 2007 World Cup winner, now starring with the Cheetahs in South Africa, Ulster’s Pro14 opponents on Saturday in Bloemfontein.
“It was very tough for us and it will be the same in Ireland’s case this time.
It was disappointing for them and I don’t think anyone expected it but it’s nice for the host nation to get a result like that. After our defeat in 2015, we still reached the semi-finals where we almost beat New Zealand.
“It’s all still to play for and I think Ireland can be optimistic about getting certainly to the quarter-finals and maybe beyond too.”
Pienaar also told how he misses his adopted Belfast, where he and his family settled and became UK citizens, only to return to South Africa to be with his extended family after the tragic car accident death of his sister Rene last year.
FORMER Ulster hero and legend Ruan Pienaar has spoken for the first time about how much he and his family miss their adopted Belfast.
The 2007 World Cup winner with South Africa is now back in his native land, supporting his extended family following the tragic death of his sister Rene in a car accident there last year.
Prior to that he had settled in Northern Ireland and taken out UK citizenship following a spell in France with Montpellier when his Ulster contract was controversially not renewed by the IRFU.
He is now with South African side the Cheetahs, ironically preparing to face Ulster in the Pro14 league in Bloemfontein on Saturday.
This time last year it’s not where Pienaar saw himself for the 2019/20 season, and as recently as last summer he was still pondering retirement, but the unspeakably tragic events of last February ultimately saw him seeking a move close to his family.
Pienaar’s sister Rene was just 38-years-old when she was killed in a car accident in the Western Cape, leaving behind her husband and two young children. It was the desire to be there for his family that saw Pienaar make the decision to move back to South Africa after almost a decade in Europe.
“It’s been good,” he says of life back home. “It’s been nice to spend more time with family and friends. I think mostly it’s nice to be back here with them, that’s the big reason for us coming back. It’s been enjoyable. It was tough to leave Belfast, and we do still miss it, but for the time being this is where we see ourselves for the next couple of years.
“With what happened earlier in the year, the passing of my sister, it was a huge factor in us coming back, and I wanted to support my family, especially my mum and dad, as much as I could. I think if you’d asked us a year ago, the plan would have been for us to stay in Belfast but things changed obviously. It’s good to be able to come back and offer that support.”
The opportunity to play for the Cheetahs and extend his career was an added bonus, one that has started well. An experienced head in a young squad, it’s already brought him something that proved elusive in the northern hemisphere — silverware. Pienaar (below) was front and centre as the side lifted the Currie Cup last month. After a difficult time in France with Montpellier, where his wife and three children returned to Belfast halfway through the stay, Pienaar seems in a better position to really enjoy his rugby.
“My time in France was tough, not having my family around was tough on both me and my wife,” he says.
“She had three kids on her own in Belfast and I was in Montpellier. It was frustrating, a difficult time.
“I was at the crossroads of retirement really. We weren’t sure if we were going to move back to South Africa or I was going to start life after rugby in Belfast and look for a proper job. I didn’t want to move the family somewhere else new and disrupt them again, even if it was only in England or somewhere. Then the Cheetahs thing came up and it was a nice opportunity to come to the city where I grew up and play for the team I supported as a boy. It gave me a chance to get back to my family and to keep doing what I love.
“It was a tough decision because we love Belfast and that was where we probably would have seen our future.
“But the more we thought about it, we wanted to give it a go, the kids are at an age where we could and if we waited a few more years it would have been really tough on them. At the end of the day we said we’d give it a go and see what happens.
“I probably took a few weeks more than the Cheetahs would have wanted (to decide) but I’ve really enjoyed it.
“At my age I don’t want to put too much pressure on my performances and worry about that too much. I want to enjoy it. I know the end is quite close. I still want to play well but I know I need to enjoy it and contribute where I can. It’s been a good start in the PRO14 and hopefully we can keep it going now.”
That’s where things get tricky for Ulster fans. Since his IRFU-enforced exit some two and a half years ago, one of the province’s most beloved players
remains a favourite who has been cheered on from afar, but the Cheetahs’ next opponents... none other than Ulster in Bloemfontein on Saturday.
“I’ve already been speaking with a few of the boys and it’ll be nice to catch up with them,” Pienaar says. “It’ll be strange playing against friends and against a team you still love so much. Hopefully it’ll be enjoyable but definitely strange.”
For him and Ulster fans both.
Meanwhile, if anyone knows what it has been like for Ireland’s players this past week after losing to Japan, it’s Pienaar. Before the shock in Shizuoka there was the Brighton Miracle, with Pienaar starting at scrum-half for the Springboks in what, until Saturday, was the unrivalled high point in the history of Japanese rugby.
The two-time World Cup winners took their 2015 reverse even worse than the Irish public, with Boks coach Heyneke Meyer feeling the need to offer an apology to the nation in the heated aftermath.
Having not been an uninvolved observer of this competition since Jonny Wilkinson landed it for England in 2003, Pienaar, himself a winner in 2007, watched the shock of Ireland’s loss to Japan unfold from his new home in Bloemfontein, only a night’s sleep on from leading out the Cheetahs in their Guinness PRO14-opening win over Glasgow.
“The week after our Japan loss was one of the toughest of my career, and I’m sure all of the guys that were involved would say the same thing,” recalls Pienaar. “It was very tough. It’ll be the same in Ireland’s case this time.
“Unless they are playing South Africa, of course I support Ireland and want them to do well, but the only good thing is it’s taken the sting a bit out of what happened to us four years ago. That’s the only nice part.
“They’ll be disappointed. I don’t think anyone expected it but it’s nice for the host nation to get a result like that.
“Anything can happen now in that pool, with Scotland still in the mix too. I’m sure Ireland will bounce back and get to work again.” Despite their tournament four years ago being remembered for the defeat to the Brave Blossoms
(below), it was not defined by it either. South Africa still topped their pool, beat Wales in the quarters and came closer than anyone to stopping an historically good All Blacks team from winning two in a row.
“After that game we still got to the semi-finals, we almost beat New Zealand and managed to get a bronze medal in the end after beating Argentina,” he says.
“Ireland will still be optimistic about getting to the quarter-finals and maybe beyond too.”