Cape Town - Brumbies coach Jake White believes that Australian rugby players are smarter than their South African counterparts.
According to the IOL Sport website, White revealed in an interview with Forbes Africa magazine that his current crop of players are smarter and more hard-working than any team he has coached.
“I am not saying that South African players are dumb, it’s just that these guys are a lot more educated about a lot of things.
“They are very bright guys in Australia, they won’t just do (what they are told), they want to know why they are doing it and, if they agree, they will do it.
"Whereas in South Africa, it’s very much if you’re the coach and you want it, then we’ll just do it like that.
“It’s more of a curiosity thing.
“It’s an Australian way, but it’s more a Brumbies thing. They have prided themselves... that one thing they have had to do is out-think other teams because... they haven’t always had the same player base or resources that other clubs have.”
White coached the Springbok between 2004 and 2007, finishing his tenure with a victory over England in the 2007 Rugby World Cup final in Paris.
According to the IOL Sport website, White revealed in an interview with Forbes Africa magazine that his current crop of players are smarter and more hard-working than any team he has coached.
“I am not saying that South African players are dumb, it’s just that these guys are a lot more educated about a lot of things.
“They are very bright guys in Australia, they won’t just do (what they are told), they want to know why they are doing it and, if they agree, they will do it.
"Whereas in South Africa, it’s very much if you’re the coach and you want it, then we’ll just do it like that.
“It’s more of a curiosity thing.
“It’s an Australian way, but it’s more a Brumbies thing. They have prided themselves... that one thing they have had to do is out-think other teams because... they haven’t always had the same player base or resources that other clubs have.”
White coached the Springbok between 2004 and 2007, finishing his tenure with a victory over England in the 2007 Rugby World Cup final in Paris.