Leinster coaching gig appeals to Jake

Jake White has not ruled out applying for the Leinster head coach role, describing the Irish giants as the “Barcelona of rugby”.

Leinster confirmed on Monday that Leo Cullen will leave the club when his contract expires at the end of the 2026-27 season, bringing an end to a tenure that began in 2015.

White, who coached the Bulls to three URC finals in four seasons, lost to Leinster in the 2025 decider in Dublin in what proved to be his final match in charge.

Asked on the RTÉ Rugby podcast whether he would put his name forward to succeed Cullen, White replied: “Stranger things have happened in rugby, haven’t they?

“If you’d asked me a year ago if I was coaching the Bulls next year, I would have said yes.”

‘International job’

White was full of praise for Cullen and the scale of the Leinster job.

“It’s the Barcelona of rugby – Leinster – and it’s like coaching an international job,” he said.

“If you think about it, people say they want to coach an international team, that’s as close to getting an international gig by coaching a club team.”

White recalled meeting Cullen shortly before he took over from Matt O’Connor in 2015.

“I was at a coaching conference in Italy when he told me that he had been tapped on the shoulder to take over Leinster as an interim coach and asked me what I thought.

“And I said, ‘Grab it, my mate, it’s a wonderful opportunity’.”

The former Springbok coach believes Cullen has earned enormous respect in the game.

“People talk about being a real, true rugby man, and you’re not going to get deeper roots than Leo Cullen, what he’s done as a player, as a coach, his interactions with other coaches, his ability to share knowledge.”

Leinster job

White also backed the timing of Leinster’s succession plan.

“I think to be fair to Leo, I think it’s wonderful that he’s telling people he’s moving on.

“Twelve years, I think Leo himself, he knows deep down where that’s the right time. Coaches are like that.

“Sometimes it’s not your call. Sometimes you can get tapped on the shoulder by an outside influence and sometimes it’s not your call. Unfortunately, that’s the nature of the game we’re in.”

White believes Leinster could benefit from identifying Cullen’s successor well in advance.

“They can now take their time,” he said. “So who knows, in six months’ time or the back end of the year, if Leo and the board feel they’ve got a guy that they would like to appoint, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with someone working next to Leo and giving him the support and Leo giving the new guy some support in terms of what the club needs.”

This story first appeared on sarugbymag.co.za. It is republished here with permission.