Jake White: Why I'm deeply troubled after stellar Rugby Championship

Firstly, can I give a warm congratulations to the Springboks. It is wonderful to see South Africa go back-to-back for the first time in The Rugby Championship’s history and it tells you a lot about where they are as a squad, as they head into 2026. I also don’t think you can underestimate quite how much it means to the fans and everyone back in SA. We are all delighted.

Can I also say what a fantastic tournament it was. It’s arguably the best version of the tournament since its inception in 2012 when Argentina was invited in. Right until the final afternoon, no one quite knew if the Wallabies were going to roll over the All Blacks, or whether the Pumas would cause a shock at the Allianz Stadium in London in front of 70,000 fans. That sense of jeopardy hasn’t happened for a long time, if ever, so it would be a crying shame if Wallabies and Los Pumas regressed just when they were becoming competitive. From what I’ve seen, I have no doubt Argentina are on a serious upward trajectory. Australia, while not perfect, are gaining momentum because they simply have no choice. The 2027 World Cup is a huge opportunity they simply have to make the most of, and I think they will.

However, I would sound a note of caution. Having read the headlines and debate in the aftermath, I am troubled that its very existence is being brought into question. I get the ‘Greatest Rivalry’ between the All Blacks and the Springboks is a marketable commodity, but it shouldn’t be at a cost to others. I personally don’t want to see The Rugby Championship wither on the vine. My red flag is not to tinker too much. Rugby must hold its nerve.

Why do I say this? Well, the Currie Cup is now played without the best players in South Africa playing. We could have a Currie Cup final where no Springboks are within a 100km radius. Then you have the NPC. In truth, it’s not the force of old, with Otago, Taranaki and North Harbour, as a provincial competition. Super Rugby is another competition that has had the wind knocked out of it and is simply not the same force without the South African sides. It doesn’t have the same intensity and standard of the glory days after its inception. Yet those products did work.

In the Northern Hemisphere, the Gallagher PREM, shorn of Wasps, London Irish and Worcester is not the competition it was – it’s a lite-version until they are back to full strength. In fact, the Top 14 is probably the only global competition that has gone from strength-to-strength, primarily due to its generous TV rights deal. That is not even up for debate. So, the most important thing I would like to ask is, why? Why are we so obsessed with change?

Rugby Championship

P

W

L

D

PF

PA

PD

BP T

BP-7

BP

Total

1

South Africa

6

4

2

0

19

2

New Zealand

6

4

2

0

19

3

Australia

6

2

4

0

11

4

Argentina

6

2

4

0

10

For me, rugby is built on history and tradition. They are its bedrocks. Having the privilege of seeing the Springboks name etched onto a storied trophy, along previous winners, is priceless. That sense of achievement can be punctured when you restructure with a new iteration that hasn’t forged a connection with players or fans. In a fragmented, congested market, it is confusing enough for a rugby public already being bombarded with a deluge of information that demands their attention. It takes time for a competition to bed into the public consciousness and patience is required.

In my eyes, the rugby and wider sporting public yearn for tradition. They want to marvel at a set of golf clubs from the first Open in 1860. They want to look at Donald Bradman’s bat from his final innings at the Oval in 1948. They want to see a Green Bay Packers helmet from the first Super Bowl in 1967. They want Jonah Lomu’s shirt from the 1995 World Cup. Imagine if there was no more Claret Jug, Calcutta Cup or The Ashes. It’s a piece of history. It means something. As humans, we want to learn what has gone before, both good and bad. The tourism industry is built on visiting, castles, monuments, colosseums and there is a reason for it. Nostalgia is big business.

Don’t get me wrong, I know all sports have to evolve. I get that new competitions being introduced all the time. There’s is a new club World Cup in the pipeline and this R360 is trying to get off the ground, but let’s not forget what we’re about. Rugby has long hung its hat on old-school values. I sit here in my house looking at my little bar and I have a signed rugby ball from Gilbert, rugby boots from old players, a few framed photos. You go to any clubhouse in Ireland, Scotland or England and you’ll find framed shirts, placards or long lists of those who have represented their club or country. I’ve travelled to Wales, where it seems that in every other pub, you’ll see a picture of Gareth Edwards or Barry John. Head West, you’ll see a statue of Ray Gravell. I remember watching some footage of Derek Quinnell almost barging past people to get onto the pitch in Paris to make his debut, just to say he’d played for Wales. That pride brings a tear to the eye and I really hope Welsh rugby can find its way past this current crisis. Who can forget Munster beating the All Blacks, or the hotbed of talent in the Borders with Hawick, Gala and Melrose. That folklore is passed down generations.

It’s not just the fans, either. Players raise their game to play in these competitions, because it means so much. When Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu broke Percy Montgomery’s points record for a Springbok against Argentina, don’t tell me it meant nothing. Fans lap up those stats to compare the modern stars to stars from a previous generation over a pint.

That’s why the Six Nations, which dates back to 1883, is such a revered competition. Who can forget the scenes when Wales won the Grand Slam in Cardiff in 2005 for the first time in 27 years, or Ireland won the Grand Slam for the first time in 61 years in 2009. Scotland will never forget their last Slam in 1990 and the scenes when they win it again will be magical.

We had a similar debate before. In 2005, when the British & Irish were whitewashed in New Zealand, there were calls to scrap the ‘outdated’ concept because it wasn’t the same as the Seventies when they won in 1971 and 1974, but you can’t take away 134 years of history. You can’t forget what it means to the players in the modern-day. The tears you see in those squad announcement videos are very real for those individuals who have reached the pinnacle of their sport.

Listen, I just worry sometimes that rugby moves too fast in search of its nirvana. I know it’s a period of incredible change in technology with social media and AI but there are certain things we need to keep close to our heart, so why fix what’s not broken. Rugby must never lose its soul.

Finally in this column, I would like to send my best wishes to Lewis Moody. I really feel for him after such a difficult diagnosis, but I am sure rugby world will do what it does best and get behind him.