Jake White wants his old job back – but only as an interim measure to help get Springbok rugby back on track before handing over to his former assistant, Allister Coetzee, after 2011.
SuperSport
The former Springbok coach, in arguing that he should be given the chance to be a caretaker coach for the Boks until the World Cup in New Zealand, reckons that 12 months is enough time for him to turn the team around and prepare them for a second consecutive World Cup title.
The clamour for incumbent Bok coach Peter de Villiers has increased following the defeat to Australia at the weekend which leaves the South Africans looking back at a lamentable year since they won the Tri-Nations last September.
White told The Times newspaper on Sunday that he would like a chance to fix the Boks as a crisis measure, but elaborated further in a chat with SuperSport.com on Monday. He said he agrees with the view of many critics that the blunders that have been made along the way to a record which reads lost seven and won six in that time period, mean De Villiers should make way for someone new, even at this late stage in the build-up to the next World Cup.
The former Bok mentor, who guided the Boks from the nadir they had reached at the end of the Rudolf Straeuli reign to respectability and then the World Cup title in 2007, believes his former assistant, Coetzee, is the future for the Boks long-term. But he says it would be unfair to bring the current Western Province and Stormers coach into the system as Bok head coach as replacement for De Villiers just 12 months before the World Cup.
“Allister was the man who should have been appointed to replace me after the last World Cup. I said so at the time, and I remain convinced about that,” said White on Monday.
“But I think it might be a bit unfair on Allister, or anyone else for that matter, to be brought in on a 12 month contract and expected to fix it in that space of time with no guarantee that they will stay on beyond the World Cup. When you take over the national job, you do need a bit of time to grow into it.
“At a World Cup you need someone who has been a head coach at international level for a while. I am prepared to do that job and take it on on a temporary basis. I have experience of what is required, I know the players because two thirds of the guys who make up the core group were players I coached up until the last World Cup.”
Some might think White is an opportunist by putting up his hand to coach the Boks at this time when there is so much growing pressure on De Villiers following a last placed finish in the Tri-Nations, but White says he has just become so frustrated seeing the reputation he helped the Boks build being destroyed by poor decisions and tactics.
That is why after initially saying he wanted a chance to take on a second term after De Villiers’s contract has run its course at the end of 2011, White is now wanting to take the job on now. He has spoken to South African Rugby Union president Oregan Hoskins, and if his proposal is accepted, he will re-employ former Wallaby coach Eddie Jones as his assistant.
‘AMBULANCE JOB’
“I have spoken to Eddie and he is very eager to get involved again if the opportunity arises and he would love to have a crack at winning another World Cup,” said White.
After that, however, White would want to hand over the reins to Coetzee, who together with current Ireland forwards coach Gert Smal, was at his side throughout his successful reign as Bok coach from 2004 to the end of 2007.
“I definitely do think Allister is the man to take the Boks to the next World Cup after this one and I would like to help pave the way for him by using the next 12 months to get the Boks back on the right path.”
White is emphatic that 12 months is enough time for the Boks to come right with the correct guidance, and cites the late Kitch Christie, the man who guided South Africa to their first World Cup title in 1995, as an example of someone who successfully carried off an “ambulance job”.
“It’s not too late for the Boks to change coach, Kitch did it successfully and I would want to take the job on similar terms,” said White.
“We were the strongest defensive team in world rugby a short while ago, now suddenly we are conceding 22 tries in a Tri-Nations season. That is unacceptable, and there are such elementary mistakes that are being made. It’s extremely frustrating to watch it happen and it saddens me to see it.
“Neither myself or Eddie are in contract with anyone at the moment, we can start next week if Saru want us to. We are available to work with the Boks again, and I have told Oregan Hoskins as much. To me it’s hard to imagine how they can think they can carry on with the current set-up, but getting someone with the necessary experience in for just 12 months is going to be difficult.
“I have the advantage of having worked with most of the players, I live in South Africa and know the personalities and the issues. The players we have in this country are good enough to win a World Cup, they just need guidance.”
The first thing which sprang to mind when I read this was…. it would be a drastic improvement… and I stick by that…. it certainly will be better.
Then I started wondering whether I would not still prefer Heyneke Meyer…
Heyneke also knows a lot of these players very well and those who say that Heyneke would need a few years, like at the Bulls initially, do not know what they’re saying. There Heyneke had to firstly build up a core of players and structures, at the Bokke he’ll have his core and he’ll simply build around that…
I say, give it to Heyneke, but if that is impossible for some reason, give Jake the Snake and Eddie van der Jones a go again….
Let’s look at Jake’s recent history….
Did’nt achieve much at the Lions when he made reccommendations there…. and was’nt he the one to reccommend Muir gets the position over Heyneke?
He’s made some very doff decisions too in his time, but pulled the Bokke right in the last 6 or 7 months prior to the 2007 World Cup, when his mouth stopped getting him into Media Troubles too.
Whatever the situation, anything now is better than Snorrie, Muir and Gold….
Under Jake you can be sure that John Smit would retain the captaincy…. whereas under Heyneke we could look forward to Victor Matfield as captain…
But it is that solid behind the scenes ability that I’m looking for now, that silent and respectful tactical master, one who the players will die for but also one who presents such a stable face to the Media and the World….
Come on Heyneke, throw your name in the hat… talk to SARU….
My choices for Bokke coach in order of preference, had they been available now, would be:
1. Heyneke Meyer
2. Alistair Coetzee
3. Nick Mallett
4. Jake & Eddie
5 to 100. Anybody but Divvie, Tricky Dicky and Gary Glitter
101 to 1000. Still anybody but the current Three Stooges
Jake white is useless without Eddie Jones.
Where did the Boks end up in tri nations
2005
2006
2007
was not whites head on the block at EOYT 2006 of dismal performances.
It was eddie who showed Jake and Bokke how to pass the ball passed the flyhalf.
The first thing I ask myself here is why is Jake attacking this situation with not much consideration to the current coach.
You know, the unwritten rules in life require that he go about this with a little more subtlety than making these statements in public.
The answer lies in only 2 possibilities:
Firstly he has lost some perspective and is going about this without due thought.
Or secondly he has a firm fix on the situation within the Bok squad, and believes he has support from the players and others to go public in this manner.
Very interesting!!!
6@ tight head:
Jake is known to have “foot-in-mouth disease”, maybe not as embarrasingly so as Snorrie, but nonetheless.
Come on, you and me both know that players like Victor Matfield & John Smit will entrust Jake with the inner workings of the current Bokke setup, maybe even ask advice from time to time… and I do not doubt that they still do talk with one another on a regular basis.
Jake’s use of Bok-players was questionable at times…. but I beleive he values defence… and maybe that is what the Bokke now need.
@ grootblousmile:
Exactly GBS.
So I am asking myself whether those players have sent out an SOS to Jake!!
Wonder what Hoskins and SARU will have to say about Jake’s public declaration….
Maybe it’s a good thing that the SARU cage is rattled now, even if just to wake them from their slumber.
@ grootblousmile:
That is why I am asking myself if there is more to this that we don’t know about other than Jake just shouting his mouth off!!
12@ tight head:
Fark, one wishes that one was a fly on the wall and privvy to these discussions.
I just cannot take the current setup anymore….
I have one huge problem with Jake…. and that is that he does not value true Opensider play, or the so-called “Fetcher”….
Under the New Interpretations where Possession Rugby is an absolute requirement, that to me is a key to success.
The problem for ANY COACH who is selected in Snorrie’s place, is what to do for the End Of Year Tour….
A new coach would have to get into the swing of things with his best possible players, which would mean that the Top-Bokke would have to be included in this End Of Year Tour, which in itself is not ideal…. but should he or Snorrie decide to take fringe players on tour, we must be realistic and not expect the Grand Slam to be achieved….
…. with Snorrie at the helm, we know it won’t be achieved anyway…..
We all wanted to have JW fired a year before the WC in France! Remember?
@ AB:
Agreed, however Jake could string a sentence together as well as had the balls to admit that he needed help and got Eddie in, Snor is too busy blaming everybody except himself for the losses..
Wat ons nou nodig het is ‘n White Wash.
Dit is net die All White(s) wat nou die All Blacks kan wen …
16@ AB:
Of course we remember the Jake the Snake MUST GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO stories…. and he definately needed a kick up the bumper then too, at the time….
I remember saying we had a chance for the World Cup in 2007 only when Jake started playing the Media better and then got Eddie Jones in to assist.
That’s exactly the reason why I would not automatically go for Jake now…. he’s prone to some shit of his own!
This weekend game showed something very interesting.
What did Morne Steyn do other than kick for goal??
I will tell you…
every time he kicked for touch he brushed his hair and redid his make up.
The camera always showed him never chasing his kick for touch.
How many Boks were caught strolling towards the direction of where Morne kicked for touch.
I have never seen a team have so much time to do a quick throw in!!!
Why did Morne not change tack and kick for shorter distance for touch to allow his runners time to chase??
I think there was arrogance in the bok set up that they felt they can chose what to do and this is not helped by PDV comments that the Boks were always in control of their Loftus game.
SARU het glo gesê White’s Only se tyd is verby, ons lewe nou in ‘n nuwe era.
O my goodness just not Jake the Snake, fark i will get a heart attack. He burned his bridges, so hopefully they send him to hell. I tell you guys i will stop watching Springbok rugby if Jakes get this job. I will join a party to stop this.
Please i will keep Divvie rather than that Snake.
Best moment of the match was not Beale kick at the death…it was his Falcon!!
I could not stop laughing…too funny!!
SARU members turned White as a sheet toe hul gehoor het White wil weer afrigter word …..
24@ Wallabie.:
That was funny… damn good header of the ball, he should take up soccer!
Hehehe
Wallabies en AB’s maar net te gelukkig dat Snorre die afrigter is en sal bly, want hul weet met ‘n goeie afrigtingspan (en regte spankeuses) sal ons hulle rol.
Manne hoe gou vergeet ons nie, Jake het eenvoudig ons eer veruil vir die WB, julle weet goed hy het toetse gegooi om spelers te rus.
PdeV het n briljante 2009 beleef iets wat Jake nooit kon doen nie nou skryf ons hom so goedsmoeds af.
What this guy said somewhere else , i could not say better
Opportunist
9/6/2010 3:02 PM
Jake, that is just low!….No-one went to the media clamouring for your job after the dismal 2006 season, why do you stoop so low now? Like you, PDivvie asked to be judged on the World Cup performance. Besides, there is no way SARU will appoint you anyway, didnt anyone teach you about burning bridges?….
Is it time for Snorre to raise a White flag ?
Fact = If we want to win back to back World Cups, Jake is our only choice. We desperately need Eddie Moans as our back line coach. This gives me some hope. I am sure that Jake also have the support of the major sponsors. Jake has proposed his plan to Regan Hoskins. The ball is in his court now. The real question is, will he be to proud to fire Snorrie. Pride is known to be the downfall for many.
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