Jake White's radical alternative to the World League
Springbok World Cup winning head coach Jake White has made a radical alternative suggestion to World Rugby’s derided ‘Nations Championship’.
White has protested over the current proposal and says “for the sake of rugby’s integrity, we can’t have the top teams playing each other every year”.
On Monday Premiership Rugby and the LNR issued a withering statement over the proposed shake-up of the international calendar and White has become the latest voice of criticism.
Writing in his column for alloutrugby.com White cited cricket having three formats of the game, each with World champions and feels that the World League proposal would water things down for rugby too.
“In cricket, you’ve got the T20 cricket champions, the ODI champions and the Test cricket champions – so, who are the cricket champions of the world?
“Do we really want to be discussing the same question in rugby when we’ve got the World League champions, the Rugby Championship champions, the Six Nations champions and the Rugby World Cup champions?
Instead he has called for a return a return to longer tours from individual nations such as the All Blacks, Australia, South Africa, Ireland England and Wales, along with the British & Irish Lions.
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Watch: The Rugby Pod discuss the World League
“Having coached in South Africa, Australia, France and Japan, I’m of the view that what global rugby really needs is for the teams just outside the top six to be developed into genuine contenders,” he said.
“What ever happened to letting those nations play against each other more often and then measuring their progress at the World Cup? There must be other ways to generate revenue than selling off mini world cups to broadcasters.
“Why not launch a World League that features Scotland, France, Fiji, Argentina, Japan, Georgia, Tonga, Italy, the USA and Samoa, and then have the top six teams in the world tour each other on an alternating basis?
“Maybe one year the Springboks tour Wales while Ireland hosts the All Blacks and the Wallabies visit England. And then the following season, Ireland tours South Africa while Australia hosts Wales and England visit New Zealand.
Watch: The Short Ball discuss World Rugby’s proposed Nations Championship
Comments on RugbyPass
Yeah, and ours is waaay bigger than yours. Just as you's get a semi…oh hold on that never happens
34 Go to commentsLove watching
1 Go to commentsThe Melbourne Rebels lineout is a complete disaster so not surprisingly a kiwi coach of the Wallabies hires the worst lineout coach in the country and a foreigner to boot. No surprises whatsoever here…….
3 Go to commentsThank your for wasting 2 minutes of my life Daniel. There is a useful message in there somewhere but your delivery sucks.
7 Go to commentsBen Smith, you are cry baby
214 Go to commentsSux that homophobia is still a thing though. I wonder how many players who could have become legends never kept playing rugby because they felt unwelcome.
7 Go to commentsCrazy he’s only 28, feel like he’s been around forever - don’t mind the move, safe pair of hands and creates depth in a thin position for ABs. Hopefully aides Kemara’s growth also without thrusting too much responsibility on him
1 Go to commentsMen should show strength and be mean, but they should be able to show emotion to those close yo them in certain times, birth of your child, death of family, proud moment. This article is stupid
7 Go to commentsWhat a weak article…absolute drivel and clickbait, well done. Will stick to rugby365 thanks
7 Go to commentsHonest, discipline, humility… Priceless.
2 Go to commentsSo many excuses. No mention of the SA number 2 being taken out illegally in the 2nd minute. That act of foul play had a massive impact on the SA game. Face it, NZ play pretty dirty very regularly, and it’s only since 2016 they’ve been held to higher officiating standards via stricter officiating and TMO reviews. They deserved to have a man down. Sorry. Fix the yellow and red cards and NZ will win more RWCs. Plus, there WAS a knock on invalidating the one try, so it was NOT a try. Period. Here’s a Kleenex…
214 Go to commentsOverheard conversation between NZ and SA rugby fans everywhere: We’re the greatest! No! we’re the greatest! We’re the greatest! No we’re the greatest! Ireland are arrogant! True but they beat you! We’re the greatest! No! we’re the greatest! Etc. etc, etc.
34 Go to commentsTypical crap Aussie weather
11 Go to comments“If they’d have beaten England, I still feel we would have been talking ‘is this the best team ever,’ ‘is this the best team that’s ever played in the Six Nations'” he said. “I still think they’re not quite that good. I actually don’t think they’re that good.” So Trimble is saying he doesn’t think this is the best 6N team of all time. He is silent on if it is the best Irish team of all time. Can’t disagree with him. Just another misrepresentative clickbait headline from the guys at RP.
34 Go to commentsWow, do we really still have to listen to all the excuses and “unfairness” of it all. Even blaming the bounce of an egg shaped ball for the loss. But the article is about context, so what about the Springboks having to play the other 5 teams in the top 6 and still beating a comparatively rested AB team on a very empty tank.
214 Go to comments“Teams would generally have three coaches below their head honcho; attack coach, defence coach, forwards coach” do they? I’m not sure what the NZ set up is tbh, but the other 4 sides top 5 sides all have very different structures to the one outlined in the article! As well as attack, defence, and forwards coaches, SA, Ireland, and France also have specialist scrum coaches. England have a specialist scrum coach too, but arguably don’t have a forwards coach, with that role taken on by Borthwick. SA also have a backs coach in addition to defence and attack, and Ireland and England have fitness coaches, with England also having two skills coaches.
3 Go to commentsWorst article I've read in a while. Trying to disguise a backhand slap as a compliment. The whole article is a bit weird and negative. I think South African men are emotional in general… think Clad le Clos’s father 2012 London Olympics.
7 Go to commentsIreland are going to win the world cup.
34 Go to commentsIt was the strangest result ever. Etzebeth should've been yellow card for his cynical retiring move and a penalty try. Birth second half tries by the Allblacks were fantastic and the TMO operating outside the law to rule out the first try was egregious. Yes, the boks got the win but it was through some bizarre officiating that allowed them to sneak home against 14 men that dominated them. The quieter Bok supporters know and acknowledge the Allblacks were the better and dominant side. Justifying the win because they beat a pre world cup Allblacks selection is silly.
214 Go to commentsA very English thing to do hey Courtney, blerrie kant
4 Go to comments