Vodacom Super Rugby
White has sights on Wallaby job
2013-03-18 14:20
Johannesburg - Former Springbok coach Jake White has set his sights on the Wallaby job as his Brumbies continue to set the pace in the Super Rugby tournament this year.
According to the supersport.com website, White has engineered a turnaround for the Brumbies that was put on stark display in Durban on Saturday as his Brumbies team demolished the Sharks and immediately talk has started again about him coaching at international level.
While White’s name is synonymous with every international job that comes up in modern rugby, he has been rather quiet since moving to Canberra and taking up the reigns of the Brumbies. It won’t be forgotten how many times he offered to take over from Peter de Villiers during the Bok mentor’s tough times in his four year reign.
The Australian side bounced from conference contenders to tournament favourites with their win in Durban, with even the locals finding it hard to remember when last a Sharks team was so impotent at home against any opposition.
With Robbie Deans’ job hinging on the British and Irish Lions tour in June, the popular topic in Australia lately is to speculate who will replace Deans and when. White fuelled that fire on Monday with the Canberra Times quoting him as saying he would love to take over the Wallaby job.
White did say his priority lay with the Brumbies until 2015, but if Deans does get fired before his contract is up at the end of the season he is likely to jump to the front of the queue to coach Australia towards the 2015 World Cup.
“Anyone who talks to me knows I want to coach international rugby again,'' White told the Canberra Times. ''Australian rugby has been good to me and of course I have a goal to get back to international rugby.
“But I'm focusing on the Brumbies, I've got a four-year deal and … they're my No 1 priority.
“Yes, I want to get back to international rugby, but I'm here for four years and I don't want it to be a distraction every time something comes up.''