World Cup-winning coach Jake White has torched Rugby Australia for systemic failures that could lead to a Wallabies “humiliation” against the British and Irish Lions next year.
White voiced his thoughts in an explosive column for RugbyPass in the wake of South Africa’s 33-7 dismantling of Australia in Brisbane on Saturday.
The 60-year-old led the Springboks to the 2007 World Cup title and coached the ACT Brumbies in 2012-13 for 22 wins, 11 losses and two draws.
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White then interviewed for the Wallabies job in 2013 but missed out to Ewen McKenzie.
”I remember bumping into Robbie Deans in Japan afterwards,” White wrote.
“And I said, ‘jeez, I was a bit disappointed I didn’t get the Wallabies gig’, and his words to me were prescient, ‘Jake, you’ve dodged a bullet’.”
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White said he felt sorry for current Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt and said RA’s woes dated back over two decades.
“They closed their academies. Why? I can’t fathom it… the system that brought through the (David) Pococks, the (Will) Genias, the (Quade) Coopers. Those boys came through academies where they got top-of-the-range S&C (strength and conditioning) coaches.
“Australian rugby thought they could survive without it but Australian rugby has never been weaker. They’ve never been ranked so lowly since the game went pro and the game is in disarray,” he wrote.
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Schmidt has signed a two year contract and is targeting the Lions tour as his major focus on which to be judged.
“In the background, there is an almost visceral fear about a humiliation against the Lions next year,” White claimed.
“I feel for Joe Schmidt because the problems run so much deeper than the players on the field. I heard someone say, ‘you only need 23 good players’ but honestly, you need far more depth given how physical the game now is. If things follow on the same trajectory, it could be cataclysmic by the time they host the World Cup.
“It is the biggest hole Australian rugby has ever been in and things need to change quickly.”
White is now coaching the Bulls, who are based in Pretoria.
The Bulls were beaten 21-16 by the Glasgow Warriors in the United Rugby Championship final in June.
