Jake White lifts the veil on his future plans

Shortly after the announcement by the Minister of Sport that rugby can start with contact training again and that professional rugby competitions will resume soon, the Bulls’ new Director of Rugby, Jake White, had his first official press conference with Pretoria’s rugby media last week.

White did not let any grass grow under his feet to turn around the public’s misperceptions about his so-called extravagant player purchases, while also lifting the veil slightly on how affairs at Loftus Versfeld will be managed under his leadership.

The biggest perception among the public is that White has almost unlimited funds at his disposal and that his future plans basically consist of buying a team of top players to win cups.

This perception has probably been strengthened by the good coverage his plans and the restructuring of staff at Loftus Versfeld have received so far throughout the media, while wild assumptions and statements by uninformed members of the public on social media certainly also made a major contribution to the debate.

However, White pointed out that according to the new rules of SA Rugby, he has a limit on the amount he may spend on salaries of contracted players (R60 million), while he also has a limit on the number of players (45) who may be part of his official contracted group.

He pointed out that the Blue Bulls currently have only 36 players in their group. This proves how wrong the perception is that he went on an uncontrolled shopping spree to strengthen his ranks.

White also brought hope to players who have lost their professional status, as well as top club players who still dream of a professional career. He explained that they do not want to fill their quota of 45 players right now, as this will give players from other leagues and from club rugby the chance to become part of the Bulls through continuous good play.

According to White, even professional players will be expected to join one of the top clubs, which means they will be eligible for their clubs when they are not playing for the Bulls or when they lack match fitness after injuries.

Top professional players can also add value to the clubs even if they are not physically playing there. By joining the club, they can become part of the club culture and they can participate in fundraising functions for the benefit of the club.

Although he has put together a very good group of players – who are a balanced mix of experienced and talented youngsters – with his restructuring, it is generally accepted that White’s biggest challenge will be to transform this group into a happy team and a solid unit with good cohesion.

He admitted that it was a huge challenge, but believes that with the cooperation of his old friend, the psychologist dr. Henning Gericke, who was the Springboks’ shrink when they won the Word Cup with White as coach in 2007, this challenge will be addressed. According to White, the process is already underway and Gericke is working hard on the task of getting the cohesion in the team healthy and strong.