White thrilled at IRB appointment
3 Sep 2009
Jake White says it’s an honour to serve on the IRB Rugby Committee and that his involvement with the Lions has ensured he remains at the forefront of developments in the game.
White, who has not coached full-time since the end of 2007, this year started his Jake White’s Winning Way company, with its primary business focus being the coaching of coaches and consulting to teams.
‘The appointment complements what I am currently doing in my business, which is developing the intellectual capital of coaches. The consultancy with the Lions has also allowed me to keep in touch with developments on the field, all of which has allowed me to accept the IRB invitation without reservation,’ said White in a statement.
White will serve on the rugby committee for the next two years; with former All Blacks captain Graham Mourie chairing the committee.
‘Outside of coaching the Springboks it ranks as the highest honour afforded to me and the IRB has my total commitment,’ said White.
The rugby committee’s responsibilities include:
* Determining the criteria for international matches
* Determining the international matches and tours schedule and playing structure
* Debating player welfare issues at high performance level and proposing IRB policies in this area
* Liaising as necessary with other stakeholders within the game
* Determining the International Tours Agreement
* Dealing with other relevant matters which may be refereed to it by council or the executive committee
‘It is a massive responsibility and I take the appointment seriously,’ said White. ‘I am flattered by the IRB’s recognition and it adds to South Africa’s standing in the game.
‘We have a Springbok team ranked No 1 in the World, a sevens team who are champions of the world, some of the best players in the world, the best junior teams and in Jonathan Kaplan the best referee in the world. We have quality world-class South African coaches in and out of South Africa, and the recognition of the IRB is a statement that we are doing something right in South Africa.’
White, whose position is effective from the start of September, will meet with the committee for the first time in Dublin in October.
68 Comments
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4 Sep 2009, 00:30 am
Probably true but it will take them getting used to playing without a full metal jacket.
4 Sep 2009, 00:32 am
#50 skopskiet: Tis true there are some great athletes in the NFL. You probably have to discount many of the lineman because they are too heavy & not mobile enough. Maybe quick over 5 yards but not suited to rugby’s continuous play. Biggest adjustment though is mental. NFL players, American footballers in general, are over coached. Plays last 10-15 seconds & then another play is sent in. Whereas in rugby players have to use their initiative & make their own decisions. I find that when I recruit high school players they love this aspect of rugby. So Mr Heston may be right about the physical attributes but was overlooking the mental aspects.
4 Sep 2009, 00:34 am
#51 Shakes: Actually the kids I coach have no trouble making the adjustment. Some pretty tough kids & very competitive, which is true overall for US society.
4 Sep 2009, 00:34 am
#50 skopskiet: Skops. I have to disagree, and I have watched a lot of both sports.
You hve to understand that a “play” in Football is probably on 30 seconds.
The BIG guys are fat lumps that can’t run 10 yards. There job is to stop faster guys getting to guys who can run 10 yards (and on occasion a bit further).
The average rugby players plays non-stop for 45 minutes during an 80 minute game.
The average footballer plays continually for 10 minutes (MAXIMUM) in a 3 hour game.
Getting tackled is to be AVOIDED in football. getting tackled is normal in rugby. Without all the helmets and pads on your shoulders, chest, legs, arms.
There are a few guys who could be good at 7 a side for sheer pace.
But in terms of physical combat, rugby is far more ferocious a sport. A no contest.
4 Sep 2009, 00:42 am
#53 JimT: #54 SodaJoe: Just from a numbers perspective I reckon they have the advantage. My take though is that it would be easier to start dominating at 7s as 15s is far more technical. If they put their minds to it that is.
4 Sep 2009, 00:42 am
#54 SodaJoe: One of the biggest differences is the absence of blocking in rugby. In our game you’re supposed to only tackle the guy with the ball. In NFL everyone, in general, is fair game. This accounts for many injuries & maybe the need for protection. The irony is that the helmet is used as an offensive weapon & the cause of many concussions & neck injuries. Overall if more US kids are channeled into rugby then the rest of the world needs to watch out. Sheer demographics favour the US with a 300MM population. Another 10 years & the US will be a factor in world rugby. Not the best but will be competitive.
4 Sep 2009, 00:53 am
#56 JimT: A footnote, just watch the US for the polynesian content of their teams. BH will love that. lol
4 Sep 2009, 01:58 am
A South African on the IRB committee! Will some decisions go our way for a change?
4 Sep 2009, 05:46 am
NFL IS RUBBISH. HERES WHY
- the plays last 10 seconds at a time before the coach pulls out the encyclopedia play book to instruct them
-players get SO excited about making a 3 metre gain and their celebration of this borders on sexual harrasment
- the plays consist generally of less then 3 passes, often just one pass
- there are SO many players, split in to “mini teams” for different purposes eg defence, offence, “special ops”. this means their offensive players basically cant make a tackle and same vice versa.
- in the NFL you can play in certain positions and expect to never touch the ball in a game. so you are therefore not the player of a ballsport. you are a fat sumo wrestler in lycra pants and weird pads standing out in the middle of the field.
- their “big units” arent like rugby props. as pointed out before, they cant run 5 metres, let alone for 80 mins. if they think those guys are machines they should come to durbs and check the BEEEEAAAASSSSSSTTTT!!!!!
-NFL, like rugby league is **** in that their is no continuity. at the end of each tackle they get up and “play the ball”. in essence they are guaranteed 6 tackles without having to recycle the ball. in NFL in particular its **** because as long as you gain 10 yards your set of 6 starts again.
- in NFL the equivalent of a conversion kick is taken from directly in front of the posts, regardless of where the ball is touched down, deeming someone like morne useless!
- the ball does not have to physically be touched down in the ‘end zone’ just carried over the line, taking out half the skill of grounding the ball from a close quarters attacking move eg giteaus first try last week.
-coaches can call time out in NFL. in rugby PdV cannot call a time out to compare facial hair with big vic.
-for all those who talk about speed of the NFL I have two words : BRYAN HABANA
So to summarise. Rugby is played in heaven. NFL is played on earth. and league is played in the biggest prison on earth
cheers all
GO BOKKE!!!
4 Sep 2009, 08:40 am
#59 schalla: lol!
I enjoyed that!
As an aside: Congrats Jake.
4 Sep 2009, 09:42 am
#57 JimT: they will be US born and bred like ‘The Rock’
4 Sep 2009, 10:28 am
54. SodaJoe
Are you for real! I am just happy the Americans dont
take rugby football serious.They may look like big fat
lumps to you,but let me assure you that the Americans
until recently (before Bolt) produced the finest sprinters
in the world.
Sprinters that will reduce anything we have down here to
rubbish.The longer the Americans and especially the Black Americans stay away from rugby,the better for all of us.
4 Sep 2009, 10:37 am
#62 Brentie1: Dwain Chambers, one of the fastest men in the world, played Rugby League for Castleford last year and didn’t have the fitness.
4 Sep 2009, 10:59 am
Gridiron is a much more specialised code. The players have one specific task and are not required to have many skills beyond that. They have different teams for attack and defense, the kicker comes on just to kick and them goes off, the guy who kicks for poles is not the same guy who punts downfield. Rugby is more specialised than league, who don’t have lineouts or scrums of any value, but all the players need handling skills, have to be able to tackle,etc. Of course any comparison would be hypothetical, but gridiron players would have to develop so many skills to be able to play rugby and rugby players would need to hone one skill only to play gridiron.
4 Sep 2009, 14:19 pm
If 1% of Amerikans played rugby….they would have more players than NZ, SA, Australia, Wales, Ireland and Scotland put together.
A gene pool of Italian, Negro, Hispanic, Anglo-Irish and Slavic peoples. (plus the odd Van Der Hum).
Would Micheal Jordan make a good Lock.
Could Tiger master Goal Kicking.
Suger Ray Leonard at flyhalf.
Mike Tyson Hooker.
Joe Frasier Loosehead.
Hulk Hogan……….just kidding.
WTF started this NFL stuff anyway?
4 Sep 2009, 14:25 pm
#65 cane: ‘Americans’ surely? Anyway, here’s the history:
Primitive forms of rugby, then all covered by the name “football”, were being played in the USA as far back as the 1840s, at Harvard, Yale and Princeton, stemming partly from Americans who had been educated in English schools.[8] The history of American football can be traced to early versions of rugby football and association football (called soccer in the United States). Both games have their origins in varieties of football played in the United Kingdom in the mid-19th century, in which a ball is kicked at a goal and/or run over a line. Also like soccer, American football has twenty two players on the field of play. Furthermore, some player position references common to both soccer and rugby football are used, such as the term “halfback” and “fullback”.
However, in 1862, Yale dealt rugby a major blow by banning it for being too violent and dangerous, about seven years later, in 1869, the first game of American football was played between Princeton and Rutgers.[8] However, rugby was taking a firm grip of the Ivy League and other East Coast Universities, where it would have an influence on the nascent gridiron, which would later become its major competitor.[8] American football’s growth came at exactly the point at which rugby was beginning to establish itself in the States.[8]
American football resulted from several major divergences from rugby football, most notably the rule changes instituted by Walter Camp, considered the “Father of American Football”. Among these important changes were the introduction of the line of scrimmage and of down-and-distance rules. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, game play developments by college coaches such as Eddie Cochems, Amos Alonzo Stagg, Knute Rockne, and Glenn “Pop” Warner helped take advantage of the newly introduced forward pass.
The popularity of collegiate football grew as it became the dominant version of the sport for the first half of the twentieth century. Bowl games, a college football tradition, attracted a national audience for collegiate teams. Bolstered by fierce rivalries, college football still holds widespread appeal in the US.[9][10][11]
so yeah, Walter Camp is your culprit, the John O’Neill of his day.
4 Sep 2009, 16:20 pm
#62 Brentie1: Brentie. The sooner the US get interested in rugby the better. This is doubtful.
As a US citizen I have watched a significant amount of football. I know what they can and can’t do.
The codes are not remotely similar. Thus needs are not the same. Rugby guys will struggle playing football and vice versa. In either codes some may have potential, but to be truly great you need to grow up in the sport.
But in terms of a physical contest – rugby is far more ferocious and requires far greater speed, fitness and flexibility.
Just curious – have you watched a game of (American) Football? No aspersions intended.
5 Sep 2009, 02:01 am
#48 skopskiet:
I agree that White succeeded in polarizing people (like Watson did). Quite a few of his crtics went over to the other side when he coached the RWC winning side.
But – Did you answer the question
What is your reason (not other peoples) for disliking White?
It is clear that the dislike is intense.
Just interested.
If we understood where you were coming from you might get more understanding
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