\n<\/p>\n
Pienaar says his motivation for moving into coaching is to give something back to the game – he has already been coaching at a local school in Bloemfontein – and he would be happy to work at any level.<\/p>\n
Having been such a popular figure at Ulster, and with his old side’s coaching ticket in a state of flux at present, plenty of the Ravenhill faithful will surely have thought about the possibility of him making a return in the near future.<\/p>\n
“If I told my wife we were moving back to Ulster tomorrow, she’d be the first one on the plane,” he said.<\/p>\n
“It’s no secret we were all happy there and we’d be really happy if that were to happen one day but, listen, I’ve got to learn. <\/p>\n
“I’ve got to earn my stripes and see where it takes us.<\/p>\n
“We loved our time there, and it would be nice to create some new memories, but there are a lot of things to happen and a lot of things to learn before I could do that as a coach.<\/p>\n
“You never know what happens in the future.”<\/p>\n
While Pienaar got his hands on the Webb Ellis as a Springbok in 2007, and won the Currie Cup with both the Cheetahs and Sharks, he lifted no silverware during his seven-year stay in Belfast.<\/p>\n
Perhaps doing so as a coach one day would make amends for so many near misses in the white jersey? Pienaar does not think that way.<\/p>\n
“All we have once we retire is the memories,” he said.<\/p>\n
“The trophies or the games that you’ve won, that counts for nothing.<\/p>\n
“I’ve always tried to stay grounded, tried to stay humble, because in the end, you’re just another person in society. <\/p>\n
“The trophies or games that you’ve won, they’re all gone now, but the memories you’ve made, the people you’ve met, they’re what stay with you.<\/p>\n
“The memories are all you have at the end of it all.<\/p>\n
“So when I have a bit of time after my last game, when I reflect on it all, it’ll be a lot of those things that come back.<\/p>\n
“I’m looking forward to it.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n