Jake White
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Jake White (born 3 November 1963 in Johannesburg) is a South African rugby union coach. He was appointed the coach of the South African national rugby union team, the Springboks, in 2004.
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[edit] Coaching career
White started his coaching career as a high school rugby coach at Jeppe High School for Boys (which he also attended as a scholar) in South Africa, soon becoming the provincial schools coach. Later on he also coached various under-19 and under-21 sides before assisting with the 1995 Rugby Union World Cup winning Springbok squads preparations by doing video analysis for them. By this time he was well known for his technical prowess in rugby circles, and he lived up to his reputation by coaching the under-21 Springbok side to a victory in the U21 Rugby Union World Cup in 2002.
[edit] Springboks coach (2004- )
White's involvement at every level of South African rugby was perceived to give him a unique insight into the game that not many other coaches enjoy, and it almost seemed natural when he was given the role of national coach in 2004. When he was hired as coach, South African rugby was in turmoil, fresh off an early exit from the 2003 World Cup, racked by internal conflicts within their national federation, and rocked by the Kamp Staaldraad scandal. South African rugby looked to be a sinking ship; in fact, the captain of the U21 world champions, Clyde Rathbone, would decide in 2004 to play his Test rugby for Australia, for which he was also qualified to play.
Under White's guidance the Springboks temporarily regained much of their respectability in world rugby, winning their first Tri Nations trophy since Nick Mallett and his team achieved the feat in 1998, and ending 2004 having won 69% of the games played that year. The Springboks also rose two spots on the IRB's official world rankings: from 6th to 4th in the world during the course of 2004, while a shake-up in the top ten saw them rise to third in February 2005. Later in 2005 the Springboks beat Australia twice and New Zealand once to take the second place in the rankings. They are now fourth after losing to the All Blacks in Pretoria, in 2006.
Jake was rewarded for his involvement when he was awarded the IRB Coach of the Year award in 2004. The Springboks picked up the Team of the Year prize and promising youngster Schalk Burger walked away with Player of the Year. Soon after the 2004 Tri Nations victory Jake's contract was extended to after the 2007 Rugby Union World Cup.
But in 2005 Jake came under fire from many fans because of his loyalty to players that were in the 2004 squad. Instead of choosing "form" players, he chose to stick with players that played well during the 2004 Tri-nations season, but failed to impress since then. With mainly playing poorly in the 2004 end of year tour of Europe. Still he chose to ignore calls for the inclusion of players such as Schalk Britz and Ettienne Botha, who was named the Currie Cup player of the year. Ettienne Botha scored the second highest number of tries by any player in the 2004 Currie Cuptournament, eighteen in total, just one short of the tournament record. Tragically, Ettienne Botha was killed in a car accident in 2005, which lead to even more resentment growing against White, especially in Pretoria. Still White continued to ignore players many rugby experts felt had be in the team. Consequently the fan base was split into staunch Jake White supporters and others who question his decision-making. The criticism reached its peak after a comprehensive 30-12 defeat to Australia in Sydney.
Most of White's critics were silenced briefly the following five weeks however. First, the Boks retained the Mandela Challenge Plate by defeating the Wallabies in the return fixture in Johannesburg. One week later at Loftus in Pretoria, the Boks again defeated the Wallabies in the Tri Nations opener. The following week, the All Blacks, fresh off sweeping the British and Irish Lions, came to Newlands in Cape Town, where they had not lost to the Springboks since 1976. The Boks' surprise win over the All Blacks not only put them in pole position to retain the Tri Nations trophy, but also vaulted them over the Wallabies into second in the world rankings. This would be the only Test that the All Blacks would lose in 2005. Two weeks later the Boks returned to Australia for the home leg of Australia's Tri-Nations campaign, beating them yet again to put White's choices beyond doubt. It was also the first time since 1971 that the Springboks managed to beat the Wallabies three times in a single year. The Boks would lose in New Zealand to the All Blacks to end their 2005 Tri Nations campaign, but the closeness of the match (with the All Blacks winning only via a late try) largely defused any remaining criticism of White till the end of year tour to Europe of 2005.
Then came the 2006 season, and the Springboks fared extremely badly throughout the entire year, both at home and abroad. With a poor show against Scotland and a loss to France at home, it was the shocking Tri-nations campaign that gave Jake White's critics the biggest ammo. The tournament resulted in a record breaking 49-0 loss to Australia - the biggest loss margin ever by any Springbok side against Australia, with not a single point being scored by the Springboks - as well as a 45-26 loss to the All Blacks in Pretoria. This prompted probably the loudest calls for White's resignation and silenced all White supporers into submission. In the end, South Africa ended the tournament last with just two wins from six games, one win against New Zealand and Australia playing at home.
Along with the humiliation for White in the 2006 season against the World XI, France and in the Tri-Nations, came a record setting 32-15 loss to Ireland in Dublin during their end of year tour to Europe. It was a match that marked 100 years of Springbok rugby, with the Springboks playing in their original uniforms of 100 years ago in celebrate of the occasion. It was the first time in history that more than two tries had EVER been scored against any Springbok side by an Irish team, with four being score in total by Ireland.
[edit] Achievements as Springboks Coach
Jake White was initially shaping up to be one of South Africa's most successful coaches. During 2006 however, the Springboks have fallen away badly. Whites' notable achievements include:
- 2004:
- Won 69% of their tests in his first year as coach
- First Springbok team to win the Tri-Nations since 1998
- Named IRB team of the year 2004
- Rose from 6th to 4th on IRB world rankings
- 2005:
- Biggest score ever achieved by a Springbok side (134-3 against Uruguay)
- First home series win against France since 1975
- First victory over the All Blacks at Newlands (Cape Town) since 1976
- Consecutive wins against Australia and New Zealand for the first time since 1998
- Most successful South African team at home in the history of Springbok rugby, undefeated at home in 11 tests (they would extend this streak to 13)
- First South African team to beat Australia 3 times in the same year since 1971
- First South African team to beat Australia in Australia since 1998
- Only team to defeat the All Blacks during 2005
- Rose from 4th to 2nd in IRB world rankings (now 3rd)
As of January 2006 the Springboks have played a total of 25 matches with Jake White as coach, winning 17 (68%), losing 7 (28%) and drawing 1 (4%). They did not lose a game at home from 19 July 2003, when then coach Rudolph Straeuli's team got smashed 52-16 by the All Blacks at Loftus Versfeld Stadium in Pretoria, until 24 June 2006, when the Boks lost at Newlands to France 36-26.
[edit] External links
- SA Rugby profile (retrieved 11 February 2005; not updated to reflect his current position)
| Preceded by Clive Woodward |
IRB International Coach of the Year 2004 |
Succeeded by Graham Henry |
