In a shock move, Jake White has stepped down from his role as director of Sharks rugby. After one season with the Durban side, in which White led the team to the Super Rugby semi-finals, the former Bok coach will now part ways with the KZN team.
Discussions on the separation began last week, and agreement was reached at the weekend.
Although White has made some significant changes to the Sharks’ rugby programme over the last year, a decision was taken to move in a new direction, with White now facing the prospect of moving back to his home city, Cape Town.
Sharks CEO, John Smit, said: “Jake and I have known each other a long time and were very frank in our discussions regarding this Sharks opportunity back in 2013. Jake was excited to implement change as well as be involved with South Africa’s most talented squad, but from the outset stated his ambition to be on the international stage again, and I was all to happy to have him for however long we could.
“What he has achieved for us in such a short time is incredible and our staff and players have learned a huge amount.”
White said that although he was leaving Durban sooner than anticipated, he was satisfied that his short-term goals had been achieved, chiefly finishing in the top four of Super Rugby, putting coaching structures in place and aiding coach development.
“I was offered an exciting challenge in a great rugby city,” said White. “I believe we put together some excellent structures under new chief executive John Smit, who was always supportive.
“I’m closing this chapter in my life as I believe it is the right time to do so. I want to thank and acknowledge the Sharks for my time spent with the team.”
As coach of the Springboks, White guided the side to 36 wins from 54 Tests, which included the 2007 World Cup and 2004 Tri-Nations titles.
After two years at the helm of the Canberra-based Brumbies, which he coached to the 2013 Super Rugby final, White joined the Sharks towards the end of last year.
During the regular Super Rugby season, the Sharks won 11 out of 16 pool games, beating the Highlanders in a play-off quarter-final before suffering a 38-6 semi-final defeat to the Crusaders in Christchurch.
After the Super Rugby season, White moved away from a hands-on coaching role to start plotting the way forward for the Sharks, the details of which he outlined during an in-depth interview with the Daily News a few weeks ago.
At the time, White said he didn’t feel wholesale changes were required, but it was rather about identifying areas for success in the short and long-term.
“My role is completely different; it’s about making sure the rugby in the whole province is strong. It’s not only about winning, but it’s also about creating a pathway for players and for coaches to compete at the highest level. Obviously we can’t buy 150 contracted players every year, we don’t have the finances for that, and it’s not sustainable.
“But what we can do is up-skill the coaches in our province, and ensure the players in our province really want to play for the Sharks jersey, and want to stay here. We have a great venue here, great weather, a passionate rugby public, a CEO (Smit) who loves rugby, and real traditional rugby schools. The Sharks brand is highly sought after, and we want to build on that.”
It is clear the decision around White’s premature exit have been sudden, with the experienced coach having spent a large part of the last couple of months preparing for next year’s Super Rugby competition.
It’s understood that White will continue to monitor his systems, and, where appropriate, advise the Sharks, while also being able to free himself up for any international coaching and consulting opportunities. - Daily News