Show your class, Jakey

MARK KEOHANE writes Jake White’s application for the Springbok job through the media on Sunday was ill-timed and unfortunate.


Come on, Jakey.


You have more class than putting the knife in when a guy is on one knee. I know you feel you were wronged in 2007 and that it hurts like hell that Peter de Villiers took your champion team and won the Lions series and 2009 Tri Nations. As I said back then you should have taken it as a compliment that he invested so much in those players who won you the 2007 World Cup.


Most, but those collared colourful characters at Saru, believed you should have been involved with the Boks post 2007. No one should ever doubt your coaching pedigree because you have the ultimate prize as a coach.


But you have been where De Villiers is now, and you would have been seriously annoyed had your predecessor told the media after the 2006 49-0 defeat in Brisbane, that he wants to apply for the Bok job again. I know you had the advantage that ‘Big Ears’ was your predecessor and his record was woeful in comparison to P Divvy’s, but you Jake have more class as a human being than what was displayed in the Sunday media.


It was equally disappointing to read the threat again that if they don’t appoint you then you will have to look overseas. Again this does you and your coaching CV no justice. You are better than that and at a time like this there is no one more qualified than you to sit with the Boks’ colourful coach.


You once said there is no coaching handbook when the wheels come off on an overseas Tri-Nations trip. You said only those who had experienced such a horror ride and survived were qualified to give insight to the next guy. You therefore are that guy and, in the interests of Springbok and SA rugby, the article should have been: ‘Peter … I am a phone call away if you want to chat’.


If De Villiers and South African rugby’s bosses then ignore your offer for help, even if that help is the offer of a telephone conversation with De Villiers, then you have done your bit and showed your class.


But to put your name in the hat for a job that may not even be available after 2011 was crass and an act of desperation when the last thing you should be, given your rugby success, is desperate.


De Villiers will go to the World Cup, whether we like it or not. He was appointed for two additional years following the success of last year’s Lions series and Tri Nations. It would cost Saru too much to get rid of him now, and De Villiers is not the only reason the Boks were shocking on tour. John Smit and his senior players are equally culpable and assistant coaches Gary Gold and Dick Muir can’t escape the firing line if the guns are to be used.


De Villiers, clearly exposed (as were Gold and Muir) on this tour, needs every bit of guidance, input and support he can get. If we are all committed to South Africa’s success, this year and at the World Cup, then all egos have to be locked away and all the help has to be offered, and accepted.


MARK KEOHANE writes Jake White’s application for the Springbok job through the media on Sunday was ill-timed and unfortunate.


Come on, Jakey.



You have more class than putting the knife in when a guy is on one knee. I know you feel you were wronged in 2007 and that it hurts like hell that Peter de Villiers took your champion team and won the Lions series and 2009 Tri Nations. As I said back then you should have taken it as a compliment that he invested so much in those players who won you the 2007 World Cup.


Most, but those collared colourful characters at Saru, believed you should have been involved with the Boks post 2007. No one should ever doubt your coaching pedigree because you have the ultimate prize as a coach.


But you have been where De Villiers is now, and you would have been seriously annoyed had your predecessor told the media after the 2006 49-0 defeat in Brisbane, that he wants to apply for the Bok job again. I know you had the advantage that ‘Big Ears’ was your predecessor and his record was woeful in comparison to P Divvy’s, but you Jake have more class as a human being than what was displayed in the Sunday media.


It was equally disappointing to read the threat again that if they don’t appoint you then you will have to look overseas. Again this does you and your coaching CV no justice. You are better than that and at a time like this there is no one more qualified than you to sit with the Boks’ colourful coach.


You once said there is no coaching handbook when the wheels come off on an overseas Tri-Nations trip. You said only those who had experienced such a horror ride and survived were qualified to give insight to the next guy. You therefore are that guy and, in the interests of Springbok and SA rugby, the article should have been: ‘Peter … I am a phone call away if you want to chat’.


If De Villiers and South African rugby’s bosses then ignore your offer for help, even if that help is the offer of a telephone conversation with De Villiers, then you have done your bit and showed your class.

But to put your name in the hat for a job that may not even be available after 2011 was crass and an act of desperation when the last thing you should be, given your rugby success, is desperate.


De Villiers will go to the World Cup, whether we like it or not. He was appointed for two additional years following the success of last year’s Lions series and Tri Nations. It would cost Saru too much to get rid of him now, and De Villiers is not the only reason the Boks were shocking on tour. John Smit and his senior players are equally culpable and assistant coaches Gary Gold and Dick Muir can’t escape the firing line if the guns are to be used.


De Villiers, clearly exposed (as were Gold and Muir) on this tour, needs every bit of guidance, input and support he can get. If we are all committed to South Africa’s success, this year and at the World Cup, then all egos have to be locked away and all the help has to be offered, and accepted.

Jake White could play a part in the World Cup preparations, even if it was advisory, but all he did on Sunday was further alienate himself.


De Villiers needs help and his employers have an obligation to give him this help, even if the coach doesn’t believe it necessary. He has to make difficult decisions and he needs an experienced soundboard before making those selection calls.


Those champion players who conquered the world in Paris in 2007 did not show their class in Australasia. And sadly on Sunday neither did their champion coach.


Show your class Jakey and give P Divvy a call. Extend a hand; don’t beg for a handout. You are better than that.