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Cape Town – Former Springbok and World Cup winning coach, Jake White has expressed the sympathy he feels for Bok coach, Peter de Villiers after the Boks’ exit last weekend.
“I have a great deal of sympathy for Bok coach Peter de Villiers. The expectations of a nation just add to the heavy load the man had to carry,” White wrote in his column on Rugby XV’s website.
“My feeling is that SA Rugby now need to take time to reflect what happened and not to blame De Villiers for their own failings.
He pointed out that De Villiers never got the support he needed and it played a huge role in whether he would have been successful or not.
White then redirected the blame on the doorstep of SARU, clearly not doing much to help their already strained relationship.
“This World Cup was lost by SA Rugby with the decisions they made four years ago.”
White went onto say that a winning mentality has to be instilled in the next wave of Bok hopefuls as a clean slate has now been handed to them and saluted those who have walked the same shoes he once walked in.
“And as I sit back with a whiskey and soda highball and raise a silent toast to all Springbok coaches, I have to ask myself one prickly question: Why is it the coaches always take the flak?
“Some things do change, but the more they change, the more they stay the same.”
“I have a great deal of sympathy for Bok coach Peter de Villiers. The expectations of a nation just add to the heavy load the man had to carry,” White wrote in his column on Rugby XV’s website.
“My feeling is that SA Rugby now need to take time to reflect what happened and not to blame De Villiers for their own failings.
He pointed out that De Villiers never got the support he needed and it played a huge role in whether he would have been successful or not.
White then redirected the blame on the doorstep of SARU, clearly not doing much to help their already strained relationship.
“This World Cup was lost by SA Rugby with the decisions they made four years ago.”
White went onto say that a winning mentality has to be instilled in the next wave of Bok hopefuls as a clean slate has now been handed to them and saluted those who have walked the same shoes he once walked in.
“And as I sit back with a whiskey and soda highball and raise a silent toast to all Springbok coaches, I have to ask myself one prickly question: Why is it the coaches always take the flak?
“Some things do change, but the more they change, the more they stay the same.”
