Cold shoulder for ex-Boks coach
Former Springboks coach Jake White has been ostracised by his 2007 Rugby World Cup-winning team.
That’s the claim by former Boks hooker James Dalton as White is in talks to return to the South African scene.
White, now in involved in Japanese club rugby after a successful spell in France, is seen as a strong contender for the director of rugby role at the Bulls in Pretoria.
But Dalton has warned against re-engaging White at a time when there appears to be harmony in South African rugby on the back of their 2019 World Cup win under Rassie Erasmus.
‘‘It’s worrying that they’re considering bringing White back [to South Africa]. Our rugby is healthy at the moment and do you really want to bring someone into the system who’s going to clash with Rassie [Erasmus, SA Rugby’s director of rugby] and the new structures, just because he thinks he’s Jake White who won the World Cup in 2007?,’’ Dalton said in an article on Sport24 as he was quoted at a function in Cape Town promoting his new autobiography.
‘‘Jake is not a people’s person. He’s an autocrat.
‘‘I’m not saying he’s not a good coach, but if you look at the World Cup group of 2007, then there are probably only about six players that [still] want something to do with him. You’d think here is a coach who will be admired for his achievements, but the players from that generation want nothing to do with him.’’
Dalton was coached by White at high school but didn’t have him as a Springboks coach. Dalton’s time with the Boks ended in 2002, two years before White took over for a coaching spell that netted much success for the Springboks though their style of play was hardly adventurous.
Dalton, who played 41 tests for the Springboks, believes the current team can go on and defend the World Cup at the next tournament in France in 2023.
‘‘I’ll put my head on a block to say with the structures we’ve got in place, and with the local and international players we’ve got, that South African rugby is in a very strong position. I’d even go as far as saying that I believe South Africa can also win the next World Cup,’’ Dalton told the Cape Town audience.