White underwent a successful abdominal operation on January 8 after complaining about debilitating stomach cramps when the Vodacom Bulls returned to South Africa from a Vodacom United Rugby Championship match against Dragons in Newport.

The Bulls director of rugby was discharged from hospital on Monday and will continue his recovery at home before making an expected return to duty on February 8.

In his TimesLIVE column, Mark Keohane of SA Rugby Mag extols the value for SA rugby of having White back at the helm of the Bulls, and suggests the former Bok mentor is a handy insurance policy for the world champions in a World Cup year.

“White, since his return to South Africa to head up professional rugby at the Bulls, has come as if sent by a higher rugby power. The Bulls were a mess when White arrived and in a few seasons he took them back to the top of the table,” he writes.

“White won back-to-back Currie Cup finals, both played in one year, and he won domestic competitions like Super Rugby Unlocked and the Rainbow Cup SA in the immediate aftermath of the pandemic.

“White also took the Bulls to the final of the United Rugby Championship, in which his boys came up just short in Cape Town against the DHL Stormers.

“But it is White’s survival from an emergency operation that is to be celebrated the most. His family know they have a dad and husband on the road to recovery and the Bulls know their rugby messiah will be back to lead in the next month.

“South African rugby is also the biggest beneficiary because if there was a breakdown between Rassie Erasmus, Jacques Nienaber and the South African Rugby Union in this World Cup year; they have a World Cup-winning coach in White capable of stepping in and taking the Boks to the World Cup.

“White was magnificent at the 2007 World Cup. His Springboks were the best team and the most popular. Since 2007, White has won titles in Australia, with the Brumbies, in Japan, with Montpellier in Europe and he has won titles all his life, including the world championship with the Junior Springboks.

“In a weekend of mixed results for SA’s professional teams, the only result that needs unanimous applause is that we speak about Jake White in the present tense because he is still with us. Be strong in your recovery, Jakey.”