Jake White
Jacob Charles White is a professional rugby union coach and former coach of the South African national team – the Springboks – whom he coached to victory in 2007 Rugby World Cup and the 2004 Tri Nations. White also coached the Under-21 Springbok side to victory in the Under-21 World Cup in 2002. He was coach of the Brumbies in the Super Rugby from 2012, but resigned with two years remaining on his contract in 2013 to return to South Africa. On returning to South Africa, he coached the Sharks for a single season, explaining he wanted to seek international opportunities. This arose in a technical role with the Tongan national team. After assisting Tonga in their 3 Test European Tour in 2014, White was announced as Montpellier's new boss, overseeing all coaching aspects for the club.
On 24 October 2011, he was inducted into the World Rugby Hall of Fame, alongside other World Cup-winning head coaches and captains through the 2007 World Cup.
Coaching resume up to 2004
Jake White was born in Johannesburg and attended Jeppe High School for Boys where he played in the First XV. He changed his surname to White when he was a teenager after his mother remarried. He began his coaching career as a high school rugby coach at Parktown Boys' High School's First XV before returning to his old school as a teacher and coach of the school's First XV. White's success with the school team resulted in him being appointed as provincial schools coach. He coached various under-19 and under-21 sides before assisting Springbok squad preparations by compiling video analysis for them. From 1997 to 1999 he was a technical advisor to Nick Mallet, being part of the 17 Test winning record by the Springboks. In 1999 he was the assistant coach to the U-21 Springboks, coached by Eric Sauls and captained by John Smit. While assistant coach of the U-21 they won the SANZAR tournament in Argentina, beating England, Ireland, Wales, Australia, France enroute to the finals and then beat New Zealand in the final. From 2000-2001 he was an assistant to Harry Viljoen at the Springboks. 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 U-21 Rugby Union World Cup in 2002.Springbok coach
White was appointed as head coach of the national team in early 2004 following South Africa's poor performance at the 2003 World Cup and the Kamp Staaldraad scandal. His first move was to install John Smit as captain, which drew a substantial amount of criticism, despite the success they achieved leading the Springboks.2004
White started his Springbok coaching career with a 2–0 series win over Ireland, followed by wins over Wales and a combined Pacific Islanders team in the 2004 June rugby union tests. He then proceeded to coach South Africa to their first Tri-Nations trophy since 1998. Soon after the 2004 Tri Nations victory, White's contract was extended to after the 2007 Rugby World Cup.In the November Internationals, South Africa attempted a Grand Slam, beating Wales and Scotland, but losing to Ireland and England. They concluded the Tour with a win over Argentina in Buenos Aires.
The Springbok resurgence was recognised with a sweep of the major International Rugby Board Awards. The Boks were named Team of the Year, White Coach of the Year, and flanker Schalk Burger Player of the Year.
2005
In the 2005 Tri Nations Series, the Springboks and All Blacks each won 3 tests, but New Zealand won the Championship on bonus points.2006
The 2006 season got off to a strong start with a 36–16 win over a confident Scotland contingent; fresh off the back of beating both France and England and finishing third in the Six Nations of that year. This optimism was soon replaced by intense apprehension and frustration over the following months as the Boks narrowly beat the same Scotland side the following week as Springbok kingpin Schalk Burger suffered a career-threatening neck injury in the very same game. A disappointing loss to France in Cape Town left the side bereft of confidence ahead of a Tri-Nations opener against Australia. A member of the conditioning team stated that the Boks no longer felt they were in a comfort zone going into the Tri-Nations.Perhaps the lowest point in Springbok history, alongside the 2002 drubbing at the hands of England; the Springboks were dealt a record defeat to Australia by 49 points to nil. The matched was marred by very inaccurate play, punctuated by flyhalf Jaco Van Der Westhyzen's purported 'drop kick' just outside his 22 after fumbling the ball. Larkham led his charges magnificently in exposing the Springboks defensive frailties and shattering any chance of a Bok revival.
A week later and the Boks put up a much stronger showing against New Zealand. Though the Boks frustrating ill-discipline allowed for the All Blacks to tally a total of seven penalties to pull away comfortably. Pressure was beginning to mount at this point, and so too injuries. The Boks gave New Zealand a real working over at the breakdown and dominated the All Black line-out throughout; but the aforementioned ill-discipline and the sublime Dan Carter were too much to contain in the end. Bakkies Botha injured his calf on the eve of this test requiring surgery and joined stalwart Schalk Burger as a long-term injury.
Jake rallied his troops in the Springboks' final match of their away tour in the newly expanded Tri-Nations. The Springboks looked set to seal their first win of the competition until a late try by Mat Rogers allowed for Mortlock to score the winning conversion and compound Bok woes. The loss splintered morale and soon political turmoil would engulf the team as Jake White's tenure was put into question. Supposed secret meetings in England and the issue of transformation put considerable strain on the team as a meeting with the powerful All Blacks loomed later in August. Numerous journalists in South Africa with strong ties to Cheeky Watson campaigned viciously for the removal of Jake. This a knee-jerk reaction to Jake's refusal to play Luke Watson and name him captain of the side.
With the Boks now on home soil they had time to reflect on their failings and regroup. Despite this brief reprieve the beleaguered Boks seemed to undo their good work in the previous two tests in exhibiting yet another poor defensive display that harkened back to the 49–0 loss in their opening game. A burst of three tries inside ten minutes allowed New Zealand to dominate the game and confirm their status as the preeminent force in world rugby. A strong fightback by the Boks was not enough as they were held at arm's length and masterfully picked off.
Backs firmly planted to the wall the Springboks were determined to end their campaign strongly and salvage some measure of respectability. Jake seemed to find the right balance in the back row and the Boks stubbornly defeated New Zealand in a disciplined and accurate display at the Royal Bafokeng Stadium. The Boks rolled up to Ellis Park the following week to right the wrongs of their heartbreaking loss to Australia in their final away match; they provided another very strong showing with yet another disciplined and accurate display. The standout feature of this match was the manner in which Solly Tyibilika outplayed his more fancied opposite George Smith – regarded by many as the greatest fetcher of his era.
With back-to-back wins over their Tri-Nations rivals Jake White decided to rest the remainder of his front line players for the up-coming End of Year Tour. They started their campaign against Ireland in celebration of 100 years of Bok rugby. The Irish however had other ideas and put away three tries that exposed the poor defence of Pierre Spies in particular and Bryan Habana out of position at 13. Spies was twice caught charging out of the line and the Irish swiftly punished that opening each time. The Springboks, fielding a largely experimental side, fought hard as Habana and debutant François Steyn dotted down in the second half. That comeback was roundly ended by Horgan after O'Driscoll expertly put him away to seal the game.
Next up was a two test encounter against England at fortress Twickenham. The Springboks had not beaten England since the Spring Tour of 2000 where the Boks won 18–13. England exacted revenge a week later and had built a period of dominance spanning six years. Even more disconcerting was that the Boks had not won at Twickenham since 1997; this leaving the Boks with a nine-year hoodoo to break. The Boks dominated England for much of the first test and seemed certain of victory until a late try by Phil Vickery gave England the result. A key turning point in the game was the injury to Butch James. His replacement, André Pretorius failed to deliver the steadiness Butch provided and missed an important penalty. However, the Boks gained confidence from this display and relished their second chance to redeem themselves.
Unlike the first test, England got off to a strong start with stinging attacks that left the Boks defending for most of the first 30 minutes. In fact, it wasn't until the 26th minute that the Boks launched their first serious attack started by nuggety scrumhalf Ricky Januarie. England finally scored on the half-hour mark, but a missed conversion signalled the end of their dominance. The Boks got to work dominating the English with bruising defence, probing tactical kicks and set piece superiority. Burly prop CJ Van Der Linde punctuating the Bok's dominance in brushing aside two defenders as he burst his way through England's defensive line and dotting down for a crucial score. André Pretorius nailed three drop-goals which left the English on the ropes. As England became more desperate and lost for invention, the game slipped further away from them. The curse of the Red Rose was final lifted in arguably the most important victory of the 2006 campaign. The result unfortunately ended the tenure of Andy Robinson as England dubiously replaced him with Brian Ashton. Jake White however just managed to stave off his critics and end what was an emotionally exhausting season.
The final analysis was that this was a year of growth as much as it was a disappointing lost opportunity. Injuries to Schalk Burger, Bakkies Botha, Jean De Villiers, Bryan Habana, Butch James, André Pretorius, Joe Van Niekerk, Jacques Cronje, Danie Rossouw, Juan Smith, Eddie Andrews, BJ Botha, CJ Van Der Linde, Gurthro Steenkamp, Pedrie Wannenburg, Marius Joubert among other lesser injuries stretched the Bok's depth to its limit. The blessing was that it allowed the Boks to break their reliance on certain individuals and expand their depth in blooding new players and testing new combinations. François Steyn was undoubtedly the find of the season alongside the elusive Ruan Pienaar. Jake also found depth in Wynand Olivier and Pierre Spies; the former being used extensively in plugging gaps left by injuries in the backline. Jake lamented the many lost opportunities of this campaign but was optimistic about the various changes they made to their defensive patterns and saw it as an important learning curve ahead of the World Cup the following year.