White could return to down Boks
21 Oct 2008
Jake White has expressed interest in a role with the British and Irish Lions for their South African tour in 2009.
White, who coached the Springboks to the World Cup title in 2007, has been out of rugby for nearly a year, but has admitted that he is in discussions with Lions boss Ian McGeechan about the possibility of joining their coaching staff.
White told The Times newspaper: “I’ve made it clear to McGeechan that I’m actively in the market for a job in rugby and I believe I can add value. It’s up to him and the Lions organisation to decide if they need me.
White has also been in discussions with McGeechan about a short-term deal with Premiership club Wasps and has discussed a similar deal with close friend and Saracens Director of Rugby Eddie Jones.
“Now I’m suddenly faced with a choice, which was something I didn’t have, or didn’t seek, for almost a year,” he said.
White has made no secret of the fact that he would prefer a Director of Rugby role in South Africa, but said that SA Rugby seem to be disinterested in that proposal.
“I made it clear to South African rugby that I wanted to be involved in helping them because I feel I have a lot to give back to rugby. But they haven’t expressed an interest in using me, so I have to look at my options.”
319 Comments
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21 Oct 2008, 17:14 pm
#242 stodders: I don’t think their settlers are predominatly from Celtic stock, indeed, isn’t Canterbury (of the famed Crusaders) known as little England? I’m pretty sure the Maori population don’t hold a grudge, we’ve even got one playing for us now
no, I’ve come to the conclusion they just don’t like anyone.
#245 cab: No, not Johnson but I can see Dallaglio doing it and it wouldn’t shock me to see Woodward doing it.
#247 Puma: later Puma
21 Oct 2008, 17:15 pm
#247 Puma:
Enjoy it Puma.
21 Oct 2008, 17:17 pm
#251 Big Hit:
yeah well i’m more of a corry fan than dallaglio.
woodward was more nutty than a fruitcake, god knows what White saw in him.
21 Oct 2008, 17:20 pm
#253 cab: what would you have thought of Nick Mallet coaching England? traitor?
21 Oct 2008, 17:27 pm
#254 Big Hit:
i dont know if i’d call White a traitor so much as that I am just hugely dissapointed. Professionalism is one thing, but the Springbok job is really alot more then that as I am sure you appreciate.
At least with mallet everyone knew what they were getting into, he’d **** ppl out and carry on but there was not this whole song and dance about traditions, etc etc. or turning like this. If we had just gone thru 4 years with Nick Mallett and he won it and then coached the Lions a year later, i’d also think there was nothing to the man.
I am sure his speeches of motivation would all have been about the jersey, about pride in it, about committment and loyalty – all of the very things that are not being shown by this act. Which leaves one with what? an empty vessel.
21 Oct 2008, 17:42 pm
#255 cab: fair points and I agree with you. Its not the done thing.
21 Oct 2008, 18:06 pm
#250 cab: Of course. I don’t know him, he doesn’t know him. It’s all playful jest and a jousting of opinions.
21 Oct 2008, 18:22 pm
#257 stodders: He doesn’t know me…ooooppps
21 Oct 2008, 19:31 pm
one other thing, putting aside the moral element since clearly there are none, comes the issue of that all-important Bok ledger and our test record.
Every test match won is vital, anything that gets in the way of that is the enemy as far as SA rugby should be concerned. If White is to tour with the Lions his aim will be to affect that record negatively from an SA viewpoint, so he is automatically the opposition or enemy, however PdV wants to put it so that we trounce them.
21 Oct 2008, 19:35 pm
In fact what White is looking to do is getting paid to tear down that wonderful test ledger and history he kept banging on about that he apprarently cherised as a schoolboy.
what a load of utter bollocks. Where can i send back the batch of shite that he calls a book. toilet paper. in black and white and now brown.
21 Oct 2008, 19:55 pm
#260 cab:
glad to see the pennies eventually have started dropping, tinkle tinkle, took awhile, but don’t go over doing it now, sometimes a sudden awakening could be a little strenuous on the old heart strings especially when someone held in such high esteem gets shown up for what he’s been all along
now for the rest of the sing along party to see the fading light like poor adulating Puma over here, would be a great day for integrity the day the Lions get thumped to Kingdom Come by PdV’s bokke or proteas or prickly pears or mayflowers, who knows, maybe even Lukie gets picked that day just for the glorious honour of it all.
21 Oct 2008, 20:01 pm
#261 mayhem:
no i dont think the penny has actually dropped, i cant believe what a fraud this guy is. almost as bad as your religious meanderings. truth be told, you said it all along about White, i never thought he would do this.
21 Oct 2008, 20:10 pm
#262 cab:
he hasn’t done what any other low down, self indulgent, unscrupulous, self seeking son of a b.. would have done, he was trying it since 2006 if you care to remember, they same year he told Brits he’d buy him the ticket, he was actively siding up with brother Clive for a pounds sterling appointment on her majesty’s secret service back then already, its always been about JW first and foremost in his personal SWAT analysis, even the beer fetchers I’m sure might confirm my suspicions.
21 Oct 2008, 20:14 pm
#263 mayhem:
i remember the brits statement very well and have been repeating it the whole bladdy day. i thought he was making a statement that no-one was bigger than SA rugby and that he would not be strong-armed by pressures from Lukie or Schalkie or anyone else, but that clearly is crappie.
i actually want him to explain the cheek of telling Brits that he must pack his bags and now he does the exact same thing, no its worse, Brits career has not even taken off, White’s has.
21 Oct 2008, 20:17 pm
jeez i dunno those players busted an absolute hump for white, i have never seen a more committed bok pack than in the RWC final, what must they be thinking when they hear these stories or worse when they face white for the lions.
21 Oct 2008, 20:22 pm
#264 cab:
touche, but take it easy on yourself, all hero’s are fraught with feet of clay, he’s not the first and won’t be the last either, just a pity he got away with so much for so long pretending to be Mr. Magnanimous and destroying a good few earnest individual ambitions along the way, Brits and Watson maybe only a couple we know about, would be interesting to note how many others that didn’t sing along on his hymn sheet that got side swiped as a result of standing independent of the JW hype show.
21 Oct 2008, 20:22 pm
#261 mayhem: Skoppie he has a right to earn a living. I didn’t complain when Eddie Jones came in to the Bok set up and was proud of Bryan Habana giving him his jacket.
That said – this story is hocus pocus.
Gatland was also mentioned yesterday.
McGeechan is a tremendous coach, he will build his team around Shaun Edwards, and possibly Gatland.
He will probably chat to Jake.
Jake will get a rugby job – how many RWC winning coaches are there hanging around?
21 Oct 2008, 20:24 pm
#265 cab: I really don’t think its going to happen. McGeechan has already ruled it out about a month ago. This is just White getting his name in the press to make sure people know he’s out there looking for employment imo. Thats not to say he wouldn’t go through with it, just that its unlikely to happen.
21 Oct 2008, 20:28 pm
#268 Big Hit: I agree. Also remember 1997.
21 Oct 2008, 20:29 pm
#266 mayhem:
i dont want a f’ckin hero, just someone with some consistency, thats not too much to ask for is it. i mean consistency was what he kept going on about too. all the time. actually i’m going to get myself in trouble here and am about ready to explode and thats also fine, u can ban me or do whatever u want.
Jake White will never have my support again, ever.
he probably could not care less and now neither do i.
21 Oct 2008, 20:34 pm
#269 SodaJoe: yeah, was a great series for us. Boks will be looking to avenge that one.
21 Oct 2008, 20:34 pm
just a pity i was not on the bandwagon 2 years ago when we were getting carted by every side in christendom.
21 Oct 2008, 20:34 pm
#268 Big Hit:
Its been his one sole personal ambition he’d be willing to maim for, a big UK job, Lions or Roses been his one burning ambition for a long time, maybe even bigger in his sights than the bok job was, and I’d go as far as to say its not so much about the style of game but more about the moola to be earned, ambition can be quite an insidious unsuspecting creature, Hansie and Jake, ain’t all that far apart imo.
21 Oct 2008, 20:40 pm
#273 mayhem: maybe you’re right about it being about money but the Wales job pays more than the England job (£1m v 250k) yet he turned down Wales for not paying enough yet angled for the England job which pays less. Doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to me.
21 Oct 2008, 20:40 pm
#268 Big Hit:
i think the British public in particularly are getting more than slightly queasy at hearing quotes from Mr White hovering around every England job offer and self-publicising his intentions with such apparent brazenness. i should not even let him into that fact, rather let the fool walk into it himself.
White’s sole saving grace is that he is considered the victim against an all-powerful political regime (i also thought that), but their patience will run out.
21 Oct 2008, 20:41 pm
#270 cab: Cabernet Cabernet. Cabernet. Think good thoughts. Dis maar net Rugby.
21 Oct 2008, 20:42 pm
#273 mayhem: Missed you boet.
Putting Hansie & Jake in the same camp.
Even by your standards that’s very harsh. Even the toungue biting cobra never cheated and gambled against his team.
Still classic though.
21 Oct 2008, 20:44 pm
#275 cab: Cab if I was Martin Johnson I would give Jake a call before Geech would.
21 Oct 2008, 20:44 pm
#275 cab: And every SA coach has to put up with the political regime. And it could get worse based on the last 2 weeks.
21 Oct 2008, 20:45 pm
#276 SodaJoe:
ja Soda dus waar, maar nie, hierde man het aangegaan met klomp kak oor tradiesie, oor consistency, oor windgat spelers, en nou in minder as n jaar wil hy die bokke aanneem. vir wat? asb antwoord, ek het geen idee.
21 Oct 2008, 20:50 pm
#280 cab: Relax he won’t coach against the Boks …. for a while.
Mallet just did though. What’s the difference? Gatland’s Wales vs All Blacks?
21 Oct 2008, 20:52 pm
#275 cab: well he was a victim to an extent but he was also capable of giving as good as he got which cost him his job. I was never a great fan of Jake/Eddie or ‘Sir Clive’ as people but we’re not judging them as people but rather as coaches. It seems that the SA politicians want a puppet as head coach but they can’t find one. Neither Mallet, White or PDV will lie down and be walked over.
21 Oct 2008, 20:54 pm
He will be downing the Proteas next year and I will be supporting that all the way!!!
21 Oct 2008, 21:00 pm
#282 Big Hit:
well no i dont only want someone who knows their game, i want someone who has the interests of SA rugby as a whole at heart, which is far more important.
I regret having supported this guy. just get him out.
21 Oct 2008, 21:05 pm
#283 adoons:
why is that?
21 Oct 2008, 21:09 pm
#284 cab: does Mallet have the interests of SA rugby at heart? we’ve been through this I suppose. As I see it with certain individuals with an ego, its always going to be more about them. If Dallaglio and Woodward took over as opposed to Johnson, I’d know they were the type of people to pursue their own agendas (hence Woodward running off to coach Southampton football club) rather than the having the interests of England rugby at heart. But I’d support them if they were in the job, as i would Eddie/Jake if they had been chosen by the RFU because thats what they’re there to do, i.e. coach rugby to the best of their ability. Indeed, every foreign coach is essentially pursuing their own personal ambition, even Robbie Deans. I can understand you feel let down, but it is a business at the end of the day, loyalty is sadly disappearing.
21 Oct 2008, 21:14 pm
#286 Big Hit:
The voice of unabashed reason speaking sense
and this one#283 adoons: the voice of unabashed melodramatic mamparraheit unable to cross his fading Rubicon
21 Oct 2008, 21:15 pm
#277 SodaJoe:
Howdy Soda Joe
21 Oct 2008, 21:29 pm
#286 Big Hit:
That is a very good post and argument.
Virtually every successful man has an ego it is what drives them on.
SA is a country populated with massive egos. What we did not need is another one.
I felt finally we have a coach who had the technical ability, but also the wisdom to put SA rugby first above all else. Thats what he came accross as to me, i.e. more thoughtful, less of a tyrant; but in reality he harboured exactly the same ambitions.
At some point SA will go bust, they will put an end to the endless, take, take, take mindset. Someone needs to stand up and show they are loyal to that country and recognise the great priviledge they have and put others first.
We need a coach with intergrity, who appreciates the honour he has been given.
How is that shown by someone chomping at the bit to take on SA less than a year after winning the RWC with them?
21 Oct 2008, 21:37 pm
#289 cab: I agree with you, it doesn’t feel good. But we just played Italy coached by Nick Mallet how is that different?
21 Oct 2008, 21:37 pm
#289 cab: I’m not disagreeing with you. For what its worth I think PDV is an honest guy who appreciates the honour, whether he has the technical ability remains to be seen.
21 Oct 2008, 21:42 pm
#291 Big Hit: He’s one season in. That’s one season more experience.
I think the Bok emblem might be an issue – some older guys will go sooner, some younger guys will immigrate. The NEXT coach might have a bigger issue. PdV will be here until 2011.
He will be ok. Some of the losses were disappointing in that we were playing very well and then lost composure. Autumn tours are very important for SA.
21 Oct 2008, 21:43 pm
#290 SodaJoe:
Italy are not going to affect our Test Ledger, well if they do, it will be a first.
There is a long and proudly competitive tradition with the British Lions and this guy is going to try and help them beat his supposely beloved Springbok?
#291 Big Hit:
I understand. Yes it does remain to be seen, but i have clearly backed the wrong horse based on my own belief system. Give me an honest guy any day over a dodgy opportunist. Skopskiet was quite right, lets hope he shows White a thing or two, wouldn’t that just be perfect.
21 Oct 2008, 21:50 pm
#293 cab: Bud that’s a very thin line that’s already been crossed. You know that.
I am very interested in how we approach the autumn tour. Especially from blooding some new (on merit) players. Then I will worry about the Lions.
I still smart from 1997.
Actually 1974 also hurts.
But first things first – we need to win in autumn. Well.
21 Oct 2008, 21:54 pm
#292 SodaJoe: Looking forward to it. Scotland should be a banker, the England and Wales games should be competitive. The flyhalf selection will be a crucial choice. The Currie Cup final could seal it for Steyn.
21 Oct 2008, 21:58 pm
#294 SodaJoe:
maybe a thin line, but its a line nonetheless, and you will see what happens if he takes that job, many foreigners will see that line very clearly and its to be very interesting how they handle him indeed. he’s going to be picked up and spat out, not unlike hansie if he continues. you must understand most ppl outside of SA want to see SA succeed, not Jake white succeed. So long as those goals are unanimous, there’s no problem. When they split, then one is able to seperate the wheat from the chaff, in otherwords a decent sort.
Also smart from 97, thought we could win that. Gibbs was very good.
21 Oct 2008, 22:01 pm
coaching the british lions is also going to be a whole new experience, big learning curve coming up, the schoolmaster stuff dont work with those fellas.
21 Oct 2008, 22:03 pm
#295 Big Hit: Why Steyn? I thought Michalak was at 10?
Personally – I think you know this – Steyn is not a good flyhalf, in fact I would go so far as to say he is a kak flyhalf. Pienaar is my choice, but Skoppies will be glad to know I would not b unhappy with Grant. I do not want Butch (as much as I think he is a good player – he is past his prime).
21 Oct 2008, 22:04 pm
#296 cab: We played like complete idiots in 1997. Gibbs was good, but Dawson was sublime.
21 Oct 2008, 22:08 pm
#299 SodaJoe:
yeah Dawson was good too, Bentley on the wing stood up to Small, Guscott had his moments. Johnson and Keith Wood huge presences in tight 5.
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