Mickey shows Jake the way

Canberra - Jake White has revealed that new Australia cricket coach Mickey Arthur helped convince him to take up his post at the Brumbies.

Speaking to the Rugby Heaven website, White revealed how he had consulted Arthur before his appointment.

"I don't think he ever thought he'd be coaching Australia in cricket. I asked him a lot about Australia before I moved here,'' White said.

"And he said: 'Jake, the one thing about this place is they share their knowledge, they're open to ideas and players like to be coached.' He said it was a great environment to bring out the best in yourself … I may not have international exposure but there's a lot more opportunity for me to develop myself as a coach."

White admitted that he had learned a few things in Australia and had already picked the brains of some of the country's top coaches.

"I read Ric Charlesworth's book (former Australia hockey player and performance consultant) and since I've been here I've had meetings with Bill Sweetenham (former British and Australia swimming coach),'' he says. ''I've had meetings with Ricky Stuart (rugby league coach). Kevin Sheedy (Australian Rules coach) is going to be coming to Canberra and I went down to Melbourne and met Craig Bellamy (rugby league coach)."

White also enthused about the mindset of Australian sportsmen.

"Australians have got an unbelievable work ethic in sport. When you look at their achievements in sport it is phenomenal. I just thought that this was the one country where I could develop as a coach."

White will apply the same coaching philosophy at the Brumbies as he did as a Springbok coach to transform them into Super Rugby contenders.

"We started at the Boks with nobody and we were sixth in the world,'' he said. The Brumbies are 13th out of 15, we've lost about eight Wallabies. But I don't see it as doom and gloom … I mean, six of the starting pack that I ever played in my first game as coach of South Africa went on to play in the World Cup final."