England should hire Jake White immediately
Roar Pro By kynang, 22 Mar 2010 kynang is a Roar Pro
- Tagged:
- English rugby, Jake White, Martin Johnson, Rob Andrews, Rugby Union, RWC 2011
The farce that is English rugby continues its long downward spiral, a fall from grace unchecked since 2003. Yes, they played in the 2007 World Cup finals, but only an idiot would claim they were the second best team there.
They were hammered by SA in the group phases, snuck through against a bad Australian side in the quarters, and bettered a French team who lost to Argentina, and never quite recovered from the jubilation of shocking the All Blacks the previous week.
Week after week they revel in mediocrity, constantly excusing it through claims of injury and team building. It’s been 7 years! How long are you going to build (and go back to the same old dogs – what new, world-class talent has been discovered since?)
Martin Johnson has been an abject failure, but Rob Andrew’s should probably take more of the blame. Since taking over from Sir Clive, what good thing has he accomplished?
A player release agreement with Premier Rugby… and not a single international trophy.
Not a six nations triumph since 2003! You have to go back to the 80s to find an England as unsuccessful.
And the solution is so simple. Jake White has the best credentials out of any unemployed coach – and most employed coaches, for that matter.
If England brought him on now, he would still have time to prepare a team for the World Cup. His first season as Springbok coach saw him take the Tri-Nations tournament, win IRB Coach of the Year, the Boks won Team of the Year, Schalk Burger won Player of the Year … there’s plenty of time yet for England to excel under new management.
Jake White is perfect for the English game too. He is a conservative coach who builds his teams around brutal defense, a low error rate, and suffocating tactics – everything England is good at. And he has a fantastic eye for talent.
As Springbok u21 coach, and national coach, he discovered star players such as: Schalk Burger, Jean De Villiers, Bismarck Du Plessis, Pierre Spies, Bryan Habana … the list goes on and on.
In a country such as England, which boasts twice as many rugby players as anyone else, there’s no doubt Jake White could discover the talent necessary to make them a world power once more. But he does need time, which is why it’s essential they appoint him right away, so he can scour the clubs for the best and brightest.
What to do with Martin Johnson? Bump him up a notch. Send Rob Andrew’s packing, and let Johnno be rugby supremo. He can stand around looking important, keep his reputation and honor intact, and oversee a resurgent England under Jake White.
It’s so obvious that it’s never, ever going to happen and England will remain mired in mediocrity for years to come.
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- Explore:
- English rugby, Jake White, Martin Johnson, Rob Andrews, Rugby Union, RWC 2011
March 24th 2010 @ 4:29am
Wavell Wakefield said | March 24th 2010 @ 4:29am | Report comment
‘There are just so many players performing at about the same level that it’s just so easy for a rugby commentator see a stuttering England performance and then point to someone on the fringes of the squad and claim they have been “badly misused” or “criminally overlooked”.’
I think that’s probably true to an extent, but then players like Ashton and Foden, for example, have clearly been the best performing English players playing in their specific players in the GP. Personally, I feel that rugby coverage has become inherently tabloidistic these days. There always has to be an element of controversy. The English media, and we see this with most sports, simply loves to critcise the national team at any moment. It was the same for Woodward, Robinson and Ashton. I find it a real turn-off because it seems to have spread to a lot of fans too.
March 26th 2010 @ 10:26am
Andre said | March 26th 2010 @ 10:26am | Report comment
What? Jake White work under Johnson…oh please no. It is very much the English system, to get an immigrant to sort things out when it goes belly up and have the toff take the credit. Immigrants are never good enough to land the sexy jobs when they are fresh. No if White is to be hired it must not be under the Lordship of Johnson – another duff toff. Any success will be Johnson’s doing in the eyes of the English. Any failure will be White.
Hopefully White learnt his lesson playing second fiddle to Hoskins. It will be a huge mistake to report to Johnson. Stay out White unless you get hired on your terms.