Jake to stay on after World Cup?

SA Rugby MD Jonathan Stones confirmed today that the new role of National Coaching Co-ordinator may be created in order to retain Jake White’s ‘intellectual capital’ for the good of South African rugby after the Rugby World Cup.

Stones told the Cape Argus, “It would make good business sense to explore every avenue to retain this intellectual capital. There is of course the possibility of Jake wanting to continue as national coach after the World Cup and if the Boks did win it he would obviously have the inside lane.

“Ideally, though, I’d like a situation where any further involvement in our rugby from Jake is not determined by World Cup results alone. There is life beyond the World Cup and I’d rather we are making use of Jake’s expertise than seeing another club or country benefit from our investment.

“It is something that Andy Marinos and I have given a lot of thought to. It is very tricky because we don’t want to distract the World Cup preparations. The initial feeling was to wait until after the World Cup, but we appreciate we run the risk of a successor to Jake being unavailable because of a commitment made in this time. Equally, Jake could show an interest in continuing.

“The President’s Council appoints the national coach and the company (SA Rugby Pty Ltd) employs him, so there are processes that have to be followed and protocols adhered to. It isn’t as simple as one person making a decision.

“I would like to see the issue discussed before the World Cup and I’d like to see it done in a mature way in which decisions are taken in the interest of South African rugby and with minimal disruption. I will be pushing for that in the next few days, but it certainly won’t be at the expense of anything Jake and his team has put in place.

“There has been a unified commitment to Jake and his team and any discussion of his future now should not be misinterpreted. For this reason alone so much emphasis is on the timing of that kind of discussion. Do we do it now or later? That’s the discussion we cannot avoid,” concluded Stones.