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Jake White Quotes
born 1963 South Africa
Jacob Charles White (born 13 December 1963 as Jacob Westerduin) 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.
Random Jake White quote
23 quotes
Yes, rugby is constantly evolving but at the same time maybe there should always be mystery at scrum time. To my mind, to depower it would be egregious.”
I don't say that lightly because Os to me is probably the best loosehead prop South Africa has ever had and probably one of the best the world has ever seen.
As I’ve always said, having coached at the highest level, the art of coaching is to try and stay ahead of the curve.
They have commendable strength-in-depth, but there have been a few murmurs at the quality and age-profile at No 9.
’m not saying anyone is in the wrong, but anyone who has played and coached the game knows skullduggery goes on there.
No one is saying one team is cheating, it’s maybe more that the All Blacks have cottoned on to what the Springboks are doing.
After a game, I often see front rows sitting together at post-match functions having a beer and locked in deep conversations about the scrum battle.
If South Africa’s super-powers are blunted, they need points from elsewhere and many people have asked me why Sacha (Feinberg-Mngomezulu) isn’t kicking for poles.
Alongside the set-piece, keeping the scoreboard ticking over with a reliable kicker is one of the fundamentals of being a coach. Look at the World Cups.
I remember Butch James saying that with Fourie (du Preez) playing at 9, you could play anyone at 10.
For me, there’s a reason we go misty-eyed at talk of the ‘dark arts’ of scrummaging,.
Everyone is making such a big deal of it, but they say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery and that’s what we’re perhaps seeing at scrum time.
He was that good. That’s why with the Duponts, Lucus and Gibson-Parks, if they play well, the team usually plays well. And now you have Cam Roigard in that bracket.
Both sides are looking for an edge. They’re looking for an achilles heel to exploit any weakness.
Ultimately, it boils down to a robust technical debate. What would happen if two teams were doing exactly the same, by walking left? The scrum would automatically veer left.
Coming back to Doc, one of his most famous quotes was, ‘the most important player on the pitch is the tighthead, and the second most important player is the reserve tighthead.
Their accuracy hasn’t quite been there, so with Handre Pollard not selected or injured, they’ve decided they need guaranteed points from the boot
’ That rings true today, as much as it did in his hey-day. The more things change, the more they stay the same.
The Jonny Wilkinsons, Joel Stranskys and Dan Carters of this world win you tournaments. Since July, the Boks have maybe left more points out on the field than they’d like.
That’s the quintessential art of coaching. After all, Test matches are about pitching the best against the best. The margins are miniscule