I’ll coach for free, says Jake
14 Feb 2006
Jake White is going to extraordinary lengths to ensure Jaco van der Westhuyzen plays in the Vodacom Super 14 this season.
The Bok coach told Die Burger’s Herbert Pretorius that he is prepared to coach in Japan for free in an attempt to get permission to include his Springbok flyhalf in an SA Super 14 side.
Van der Westhuyzen has returned to the NEC Green Rockets in Japan where he is undergoing a series of medical tests.
“They want to establish how the rehabilitation of his knee is progressing since he had an operation last year.
“If they are satisfied that he will be able to play again soon, I will start the ball rolling to find a Super 14 team for him so that he can play again,” White told the newspaper.
White says he will do everything possible to convince the club that Van der Westhuyzen needs match practice urgently because he has been sitting on the sideline for a long time.
“Japan’s rugby season ends in a fortnight and it won’t be in NEC’s interest that Jaco sits around in South Africa for three months doing nothing until the start of the international season.
“If money is a problem, I’m prepared to fly to Japan and offer my services free of charge to NEC. I will ensure that they don’t end up losing anything by giving permission for Jaco to play in the Super 14.”
65 Comments
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14 Feb 2006, 12:15 pm
arrrgh Ratel ..Jake wants a paid vacation to Japan.Just like Eddie Groans coaching a *** club just to enjoy the country.
14 Feb 2006, 12:16 pm
kevin w,
Ian Mac is a very good coach, and i totally agree with you on AP, but come on JW has done very well for the boks, its hard to rate what he has done highly enough.
Jake would do well to keep his ego in toe, there could be hard times ahead and with the SA rugby public as unforgiving as they are, he’s setting himself up for a fall.
Unbfortunately, i think what Jake says is taken out of context and sometimes he lacks a bit of tact, but you can’t fault the way he has handled the boks.
14 Feb 2006, 12:21 pm
KevinW
You tosser, you obviously have no clue about rugby. Suppose Rudolf Streuli was better than Jake.
Idoits like you should be crash test dummies.
14 Feb 2006, 12:24 pm
KevinW
is a single cell amoeba.
Its expected.
14 Feb 2006, 12:31 pm
Tackler
When I say 2 years ago I mean 2 International Seasons. We haven’t started yet with the 2006 season so I refer to the 2003 season under Rudolf Streauli.
“One year later they had to give back the 3N cup to New Zealand because they weren’t 3N champs no more.” – Because NZ won it on a techniacality…Bonus points. Weren’t that your punchline 2 years a ago when SA won the 3N – “SA only won on a technicality.” You were crowing on this site. Last year when NZ won it you were trying to stick it to us that you won it. But you conveniantly forgot that you won it on the same way that we won it in 2004.
As for going backwards – We won 2 games in 2004 3N. In 2005 we won 3 and lost one in a shithole in the last few minutes. Yip, that is going forward in my book.
Congrats to NZ that they won against the worst Lions team Ever. And congrats to them that they won the Grand Slam. I would have enjoyed it much more if Idiots supporters like you with a chip on the shoulder didn’t come onto this site and crow about it and compare it to your previous country to justify your descision to emigrate. You remind me a lot of pricks like Kevin Pieterson and Clyde Rathbone. They are respectivly trying to be more English and Australian than their team mates who are real Enlishman and Australians.
Don’t try too hard to fit in with your new Country. People pick it up quickly and nobody likes a arse creeper.
Cheers
14 Feb 2006, 12:34 pm
StP
I know what you mean about Ian Mac and the selections – but that is exactly what Jake is going through. So I think it is tough to suggest that Mac would be better than Jake. Especially using Kevin W argument that is Mac has been around longer than Jake so he must be better!!
I don’t think Jake is over rated at all and I don’t think there is much more he could have done really. He has made some decisions/selections that a lot of people and me included have disagreed with but at least he backs his gut feelings and ideas. There will never be a coach that keeps us all happy even if we are winning all our games. (Remember when Mallett was on his record run there was still a lot of unhappy people). The strange thing about a position as public as the National coach is that when you make decisions that are considered unexpected or different by the publc and you get questioned by the media you obviously defend your decision and then you get people like Kevin W calling you arrogant!! The media I am referring to usually consists of ex-players from different eras that know stuff all about coaching in todays environment!
14 Feb 2006, 12:49 pm
Maybe Jake can learn something in Japan that can be useful here!?
14 Feb 2006, 13:24 pm
Look guys, lets agree to disagree.
wls,
you ask what qualifies me to make the statement i did – i was born with the right to an opinion, get over it.
BMM,
bringing players with no international experience out of isolation and building a platform that won the ’95 WC vs cleaning up Strauli’s mess with internationally experienced players and coaching staff is no comparison. Comparing Mac and Jake’s record is narrow minded.
Cab, St Pete – honest rugby opinions as always.
Being overrated does not mean you are **** and do not deserve the job just as being underrated doesn’t give you the hero status of being Gareth Edwards or Phillipe Sella. Haul yourselves in lose the extremes. It’s not all black & white – there’s a lot inbetween.
14 Feb 2006, 14:09 pm
Kevin W,
i take it you really a bok supporter are you???
How can you dis the man that took us out of the embarasing sutuation that our rugby found itself in when jake took over?
Come on dude…
14 Feb 2006, 14:11 pm
Kevin W you are such a ********. Then you try to pass yourself off as the rational one (Look guys, lets agree…).
Have you forgotten how bad the Boks were before Jake took over? SA doesnt need another negative commentator like you.
14 Feb 2006, 14:14 pm
kevinw i see you wont answer any wuestion, makes me wonder if you arnt actually tackler.
Again everyone is entitled to an opinion i think in your case your saying “everyone is entitled to my opinion”
I gather you are a proffesional coach at the highest level? obvisouly as you seem to know what your talking about?
14 Feb 2006, 14:41 pm
bokpiel / bokfan1
you see the thing is that i actually do recall the embarassing situation before Jake and that’s what i’m basing it on. It is much easier fixing something that has got so far out of control than taking over a semi-well run setup. Strides are much bigger when you are starting further back. Moving from 10% to 50% is much easierthan moving from 90% to 95%. In fact, Strauli did Jake a favour … maybe.
He hasn’t turned nobody’s into somebody’s – he’s realigned a naturally talented and passionate rugby population. I’ll say it again, he hasn’t turned Italy into world cup contenders – he’s put SA back there and not without hiccups.
wls, your argument is childish – i am the average “couch rugby expert” just like most others on this site. If coaches of the highest level use this site for advice and inspiration, i’d be worried.
14 Feb 2006, 14:48 pm
Kevin W,
As you say he has taken us from 10% to 50% right, well this year he will take us from “50%” to 70% and so forth… in due time we will be at 95% my friend, Rome wasn’t built in a day ****…
everything takes time…
He has done more than well so far and is only going to do better and you will unfortunately have to eat your words boy…
14 Feb 2006, 15:36 pm
You can’t compare Jake to Mac and the records they have – Jake is involved in the selection while Mac was the last coach that did not have any say in the selection of the team. So it really like comparing apple to pairs.
As the both go the are good coaches. Mac was the first coach that was able to procude moves from set phases (two really stick out – one the backhand pass from the scrum that got over played and the lineout that splits and allow the runner thru). Jake has developed the rush defence to good effect.
Currently there is not a coach that brings any new options into the game. Teams currently rely on skill and speed of the players, and being part of the selection helps to fit your game plan.
So both great coaches but I would love to see one is able to produce good options/moves from all phases of play – which I don’t think that any current coach is capable of doing.
The one thing we all miss as fans is how the players feel – they all seem to be happy under Jake and this is a big thing – Scotland said this after there win over France (same players different coach).
15 Feb 2006, 03:11 am
“…however i think the majority feel that we are building steadily towards the world cup …”
In rugby you don’t VOTE yourself the outcome you long for, so what “the majority” happen to think is quite irrelevant.
It all counts on the scoreboard. And that scoreboard tells us all that in 2004 SA were the 3N champions and in 2005 they were not. That’s going backwards.
And, pitched against NZ opponents, the All Blacks went to the UK on an end-of-year tour and won the Grand Slam after a gruelling season which included a full Lions tour (won 3-0) coached by the same coach who took England to World Cup victory and who announced before the tour commenced that he had the “best prepared Lions team in all of history” with which to take on the All Blacks. And the Lions whitewash was followed by the regaining of the Tri-Nations.
And on the end-of-season Grand Slam tour, the NZ coaches made as many as 15 changes to a winning test team from one week to the next and STILL overcame the opposition, including defeating world champions England at Fortress Twickenham — something the Boks haven’t done in a decade.
Now THAT is what I call “building”. And “going forward” quite relentlessly. Fortius et altius.
And we don’t have to put it to the vote to see what “the majority” happen to think!
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