Jake White: 'My gut feeling is he is in trouble'
I remember it as if it were yesterday. I looked around Twickenham, and could hear a cacophony of boos, that went straight through me.
It was 2006, and my Springbok side has just beaten Andy Robinson’s England side 25-14, in a similar fashion to the one-sided 27-13 scoreline from last weekend.
The thing is the boos were for Robinson and a week later, after a poor Autumn Series, in which he had lost to Argentina, he was gone.
I thought about that this week when reading about the pressure on Eddie Jones, because the parallels are uncanny.
I know more than anyone that a week is a long time in Test rugby because in 2006, I had been flown home earlier in the Series for a vote of no confidence, ironically from my current employers, the Bulls. They had called into question my leadership of South Africa, so I know how Eddie is feeling right now.
I had been called in front of the SA unions where I had to answer a Q&A. In advance, a call came in from Johann Rupert, South Africa’s richest man. He basically said to me ‘just say you are sorry, don’t argue with them’. What he was saying to me was, ‘don’t fight with them and bite your top lip’.
As my future was discussed, I had more pockets of support. Our main sponsor wrote them a letter and said there was no way they would continue to back the Springboks if I lost my job.
Rupert consequently explained to me what had happened behind-the-scenes. A couple of players had got hold of him and said, ‘you have to help, you have to help Jake and stop him from getting fired’. They told him they still thought I was the right man for the squad.
As history transpires, I stayed on and less than a year later, we won the World Cup.
Fast-forward 16 years, and there’s no doubt the vocal signs of discontent at Twickenham last weekend would have carried right into the boardroom. The decision-makers would have been hearing the same chorus of disapproval as the fans. As the clamour for action grows, they will start to get twitchy about commercial and PR factors. It’s a slippery slope.
Whether or not Eddie survives this, personally, the calls over my suitability for the top job scarred me. If I was ever feeling low, I felt there was a black mark against my name, that I was on trial leading into the World Cup. It was always there, just nagging away at me that the decision makers didn’t want me.
It’s six days since a heavy defeat to South Africa and the mood has changed. The silence has been deafening from the RFU which adds to the swirling conjecture over Eddie’s future being in the balance.
Eddie will have spent this week nervously waiting, crossing his fingers and toes for a positive outcome.
So what will conspire to give Eddie his P45? It’s a combination. If the powers-that-be want you gone, that’s one thing. If the fans boo you that’s another, but ultimately it boils down to the players and whether they think you can motivate them to get up for Test matches, and ultimately challenge for that World Cup. If they’ve given up on you, it becomes very difficult.
This week his go-to-guys were hardly going to throw you under a bus. What else could Ellis Genge do other than back him publicly. Likewise privately, I’m sure Owen Farrell or Maro Itoje, who have had his unequivocal support, will back him but if you ask the guys on the fringes, who aren’t getting picked, you may get another, less positive answer.
What will the waiting game feel like? It’s terrible because as a coach you lose confidence. When you feel the support of your bosses, the power dynamic is simple. It’s for you as the coach to pick or overlook players as you see fit, but when your job is under scrutiny, you are desperately hoping that the players are privately backing you to carry on. It can affect even the most confident of personalities.
If you watch that game from Saturday dispassionately, you can understand the concern. There is no way Eddie’s squad is closer to winning a World Cup than when they lost in Yokohama in 2019. Every knowledgeable rugby fan would agree they’re further away right now and that’s a worry, especially given the Boks had a handful of first-line players absent. The gap between England and potential winners, Ireland, France, New Zealand and South Africa is more of a chasm right now.
Last week I said England were favourites for the World Cup, and nothing has changed. It is still possible. They still have a great draw, they still have great players, and they will huge travelling support but they have ground to make up.
Going back to 2006, I didn’t have formal review, like the one the RFU is currently conducting, it was more an informal conversation with the selection committee over whether I qualified for bonus structure. Things have changed immeasurably. Now it’s far more in-depth. Questions like, ‘is the English game in rude health, are you playing in the right style, are your management team happy and are the squad well-placed to seriously challenge in France next Autumn?’
The one area Eddie has regressed in, and I’ve said it previously, is his inability to retain staff, and according to reports, more key staff seem to be wavering. He seems to be making the same mistakes wherever he’s gone. It points to indecision or maybe an inflexibility.
Also, having had 180 players in camp over the last seven years can be seen as a strength, but can also be construed that you haven’t made up your mind what your best team is. Time is running out on that front.
In my view, all the best teams stick with a core group. As management you think, this is the team I’m sticking with and I hope to hell they will go the distance and win the damn thing. Rassie is largely sticking to the blueprint to do it twice, but with England, I see muddled thinking. England are caught between two stools.
I remember the last rites being called on the Test careers of the Vunipola brothers, and experienced guys like Jamie George and Elliot Daly who were out in the cold but three of them are back in. It’s mixed messaging.
Clive Woodward, as ever, has been strident in his criticism. He has called out the lack of transparency in the review process. The fact the names are anonymous but you can understand the RFU’s conundrum, because who has the qualifications to review a guy like Eddie? Not many people can confidently pass judgement on him because of the experience he has. If you’re going to tell him how to coach, you’d better be clear in your thought processes because he’s been around for a long time. He’s coached in many different countries with many different teams and in many different competitions. Who has the gravitas and credentials to say, ‘what you’re doing is not right’.
Either way, I think Eddie will find out soon. The RFU need to make a decision. My gut feeling is he is in trouble. If the World Cup wasn’t less than a year away, he’d be gone. That is a fact. If the World Cup was two years away, he’d be out of there. If the board don’t act and England have a poor Six Nations, they will come under serious fire for not acting earlier. The voices for change are becoming louder and louder.
Comments on RugbyPass
It couldn’t have been Ryan Crotty. He wasn’t selected in either World Cup side - they chose Money Bill instead. And Money Bill only cared about himself, and that manager he had, not the team.
25 Go to commentsYawn 🥱 nobody would give a hoot about this new trophy. End of the day we just have to beat Ireland and NZ this year then they can finally shut up 🤐
13 Go to commentsTalking bout Ryan Crotty? Heard Crotty say in a interview once that SBW doesen't care about the team . He went on to say that whenever they lost a big game, SBW would be happy as if nothing happened, according to him someone who cares would look down.. Personally I think Crotty is in the wrong, not for feeling gutted but for expecting others 2 be like him… I have been a bad loser forever as it matters so much to me but good on you SBW for being able to see the bigger picture….
25 Go to commentsThis sounds like a WWE idea so Americans can also get excited about rugby, RUGBY NEEDS A INTERNATIONAL CALENDER .. The rugby Championship and Six Nations can be held at same time, top 3 of six nations and top 3 of Rugby championship (6 nations should include Georgia AND another qualifying country while Fiji, Japan and Samoa/Tonga qualifier should make out 6 Southern teams).. Scrap June internationals and year end tours. Have a Elite top six Cup and the Bottom 6 in a secondary comp….
13 Go to commentsThe rugby championship would be even stronger with Fiji in it… I know it doesen’t fit the long term plans of NZ or Aus but you are robbing a whole nation of being able to see their best players play for Fiji…. Every second player in NZ and AUS teams has Fijian surnames… shame on you!!! World rugby won’t step in either as France and England has now also joined in…. I guess where money is involved it will always be the poor countries missing out….
77 Go to commentsNo surprise there. How hard can it be to pick a ball off the ground and chuck it to a mate? 😂
2 Go to commentsSometimes people just like a moan mate!
1 Go to commentsexcellent idea ! rugby needs this 💪
13 Go to comments9 Brumbies! What a joke! The best performing team in Oz! Ditch Skelton for Swain or Neville. Ryan Lonergan ahead of McDermott any day! Best selection bolter is Toole … amazing player
12 Go to commentsI like this, but ultimately rugby already has enough trophies. Trying to make more games “consequential" might prove to be a fools errand, although this is a less bad idea than some others. Minor quibble with the title of the article; it isn’t very meaningful to say the boks are the unofficial world champions when it would be functionally impossible for the Raeburn trophy not to be held by the world champions. There’s a period of a few months every 4 years when there is no “unofficial” world champion, and the Raeburn trophy is held by the actual world champions.
13 Go to commentsIts a great idea but one that I dont think will have a lot of traction. It will depend on the prestige that they each hold but if you can do that it would be great. When Japan beat the Boks (my team) I was absolutely devestated but I wont deny the great game they played that day. We were outclassed and it was one of the best games of rugby I have seen. Using an idea like this you might just give the the underdog teams more of an opportunity to beat the big teams and I can absolutely see it being a brilliant display of rugby. They beat us because they planned for that game. It was a great moment for Japan. This way we can remove the 4 year wait and give teams something to aim for outside of World Cup years.
13 Go to commentsHi, Dave here. Happy to answer questions 🥰
13 Go to commentsDon’t think that headline is accurate. It’s great to see Aus doing better but I’m not sure they’ve shown much threat to the top of the table. They shouldn’t be inflating wins against the lousy Highlanders and Crusaders either.
3 Go to commentsSuch a shame Roigard and Aumua picked up long term injuries, probably the two form players in the comp. Also, pretty sure Clarke Dermody isn’t their coach. Got it half right though.
3 Go to commentsOh the Aussie media, they never learn. At least Andrew Kellaway is like “Woah, yeah it’s great, but settle down there guys” having endured years of the Aussie media, fans, and often their players getting ahead of themselves only to fall flat on their faces. Have the “We'll win the Bledisloe for sure this year!” headlines started yet? It’s simple to see what’s going on. The Aussie teams are settled, they didn't lose any of their major players overseas. The Crusaders and Chiefs lost key experienced All Blacks, and Razor in the Crusaders case, and clearly neither are anywhere near as strong as last year (The Canes and Blues would probably be 3rd & 4th if they were). The Highlanders are annually average, even more so post-Aaron Smith and a big squad clean out. The two teams at the top? The two nz sides with largely the same settled roster as last year, except Ardie Savea for the Canes. They’ve both got far better coaches now too. If the Aussies are going to win the title, this is the year the kiwi sides will be weakest, so they better take their chance.
3 Go to commentsThe World Cup has to be the gold standard, line in the sand. 113 teams compete for what is the opportunity to make the pool stages, and then the knockout games for the trophy. The concept is sound. This must have been the rationale when the World Cup was created, surely? But I’m all for Looking forward and finding new ways for the SH to dominate the NH into the future. The autumn series needs a change up. Let’s start by having the NH teams come south every odd year for the Autumn/Spring series games?
13 Go to commentsWhat’ll happen when the AI models of the future go back in time and try to destroy the AI models of the past standing in their way of certain victory?
44 Go to commentsThanks, Nick. We (Seanny Maloney, Brett and I) just discussed Charlie as a potential Wallaby No 8, and wondered if he has truly realised how big he is in contact (and whether he can add 5 kg w/o slowing down). Your scouting report confirms our suspicions he has the materiel. No one knows if he has the mentality (as Johann van Graan said this week about CJ, Duane and Alfie B) to carry 10-15 times a game.
57 Go to commentsHe would be a great player for the Stormers, Dobbo should approach the guy.
3 Go to commentsGood article. A few years back when he was playing for the Cheetahs, he was a quiet standout for exactly the seasons stated here. I occasionally get to see his games in the UK, and he has become a more complete player and in many ways like an Irish player. His work ethic is so suitable to the Leinster game. I wonder if Rassie would have him listed somewhere.
3 Go to comments