Jake’s cap crusade
1 Jun 2006
Bok coach Jake White has once again emphasised the importance of taking an experienced team to the World Cup next year.
England’s 2003 World Cup winning side – dubbed ‘Dad’s Army’ by the Australian media – seems to have inspired White.
“Experience plays a huge part in winning World Cups,” he said on Boots & All. “It’s no coincidence that the two most experienced teams, England and Australia, reached the final.”
White said the Bok team that went to France in 2007 would be based around those players who had done so well over the last two years.
He also dismissed suggestions that the Bok side to play the World XV wasn’t a good one.
“In 2004, I selected a Bok side with 179 caps to play Ireland. This year I selected a side with over 400 to play the World XV and people say it’s mediocre. That shows how much we’ve grown.”
While the World XV match is being regarded as a meaningless warm-up, White said it formed an important part of the season.
“We made nine changes for the Mandela Cup game at Ellis Park last year and some of those players are still in the first XV,” he said. “The opportunity is there for these players [selected for the World XV match] to do the same.”
The Bok coach also explained his decision not to give Wikus van Heerden the captaincy for Saturday’s match.
“It would have been unfair on him,” said White. “He’s playing openside and wants to do well, and I didn’t want him to have the burden of captaincy. I can see he’s enjoying himself more without that additional pressure.”
21 Comments
1 Jun 2006, 21:17 pm
He shoots, he scores!
1 Jun 2006, 21:19 pm
It just goes to show how much things have changed since Jake took over.
Normally a year before a WC we would’ve fired our coach and we would desperately be trying to start from scratch.
Well not this time, Jake has finally got some continuity going. And just when we thought all things were perfect with our Bok setup, then people have to start making up reasons to be negative about Jake.
Leave the guy alone, he is a godsend.
1 Jun 2006, 21:24 pm
Agree Nick…
Had my fair rantings in some recent articles about people who needlessly criticise JW. Criticism is important, but at least let it be critical (as the name suggests), not the mindless hate-speech sometimes offered by the vocal few…
Hope this season goes well!
One gripe – anyone else miss Boots & All on CSN because we were rather shown some tennis?
Oh the travesty of it all…
Oh the humanity…
1 Jun 2006, 21:28 pm
Nick we must just get scoring from set play and broken play and not just counter attacks. That and a general at 10 will ensure success
1 Jun 2006, 22:12 pm
Nick in response to post number 2 I couldnt have said it better myself!! In Jake we Trust!
1 Jun 2006, 22:18 pm
Jake is one of the more diplomatic coaches we have had (in the post apartheid era). This is a good thing and says alot about his character. Go Jake, we should all stand by the man, afterall he is the coach and we are the mineons posting arb comments!
1 Jun 2006, 22:22 pm
thats exactly it, nick! Good to hear another decent talking guy, after all this bullshitting at jake over the past 2 weeks or so.
hey, tony. don’t you worry, we will eventually be scoring from broken play, but it is more important that we keep our good defense, which builds a good platform for intercepting and counterattacking. As long as we score tries to win, that’s all that matters, bro!
A general @ 10 we will not have. Well atleast untill the end of RWC 2007. The only ‘general’ we have is still young and in the process of becoming something really special. Brad B has still 2 years to prove himself, he WILL be the next big thing, but only from 2008. Watch this space! and do not rush the guy!
2 Jun 2006, 04:15 am
JW is doing a superb job with continuity and building “caps”. I believe our flyhalves are good enough… Jaco, Pretoors, Butch and The Bos Man are all perfectly cabable players offering JW many different gameplan options. We have 4 frikkin generals!
2 Jun 2006, 05:26 am
Forgive me if I am wrong, but Jean had a **** S14 and was basically anonymous on the field. Don’t you think he is the one who needs to ‘enjoy’ himself and not have the addtional pressure of being a captain!
2 Jun 2006, 06:48 am
I think Jean is an excellent choice for Vice Captain. When he was made captain for one Stormers game against the Cheethas he directed his team well and nearly came back from being 18 points down. Stormers has a very good 2nd half. I think Jake should officially name him vice captain, just like Aus and NZ have official vice captains. That should also settle the issue and question of who would captain id Smit is rested or replace during a game. It should also give hime the confidence to take the backline leadership role like Mauger does for the NZ.
2 Jun 2006, 07:29 am
mmmm .. just wonder how much experiance our ’95 boks had back then when they won …
2 Jun 2006, 07:49 am
experience is great..but finishing a game and being able to run, pass and kick without your pacemaker giving in is another. We don’t need a bunch of old farts in our team.
England won the WC because the youthful Johnny Wilkinson was sublime thoughout the tounament.
You need gamebreakers to win a WC, not pensioners!
2 Jun 2006, 07:57 am
JAKE WILL PAY THE PRICE FOR NOT EXPANDING HIS SQUAD FROM THE USUAL 25 OR SO SUSPECTS, TO 35-40 PROSPECTS. THE LIKES OF AKONA NDUNGANE, ROETS, ETC. WOULD HAVE ADDED DEPTH BUT I THINK JW IS SETTING HIMSELF UP FOR DISAPPOINTMENT. WHAT IF VICTOR, JEAN, BAKKIES, AND OS WERE RULED OUT OF CERTAIN WC MATCHES AT THE SAME TIME FOR E.G? HE HAS MISSED A CHANCE TO EXPAND THE SIDE ALA GRAHAM HENRY. THE PRICE WILL BE A QUARTERFINAL EXIT IN 2007 WC. MARK MY WORDS!
2 Jun 2006, 08:12 am
All this talk about “caps” is meaningless, as players now get caps for just 5 minutes on the park at the end of the game.
2 Jun 2006, 08:15 am
Wilkinson was a veteran in terms of caps.
2 Jun 2006, 08:26 am
Having a squad with experience is all good and well, but Jake’s getting to the point now where he’s getting tunnel vision over this whole ‘experience’ issue. Experience is good to a point – you also need talent and that X-factor, and sometimes the guys with all the experience start to lose those qualities.
2 Jun 2006, 09:11 am
What better experience do you want than Kobus Visagie.
BJ, Eddie, Sephaka can all learn from Kobus Visagie as a specialist tighthead prop.
Jake is once again contradicting himself by saying one thing, and doing another.
2 Jun 2006, 09:52 am
you boys are like a bunch of woman with sore tits…
moan moan moan…
let JW carry on as he wishes, we are seing the results, or have been fo rthe past 2 years , so let them carry on..
judge him after the games, not before..!!
come on guys, get behind the man, this is the Springboks we talking about, back the boys, and the coach…
go you good things, they will make us all proud tommorro.. yes boys..!!!
2 Jun 2006, 10:21 am
Jake has always had the world cup in vision since he took over from rudolf ‘kamp staaldraad’ straulie. you have to have a mix of youngsters and toppies to make a quality side, and that is exactely what J.W is doing!
To all those guys slating J.W, cant you remember what it was like under Straulie? Eng 50-SA 3? C’mon give the guy a break!
2 Jun 2006, 10:36 am
i quite like old Jake White, he always gives a different and quite sensible view to support his opinions, rugby genius. All hail Jake. The cup is ours.
2 Jun 2006, 16:10 pm
Yes I have to agree with several of the guys on this blog today. Under Jake White we have won more games than we have lost, we have won the Tri Nations and beaten Australia in Australia and came within minutes of beating the All Blacks in New Zealand.
Yes the French beat us in November but that was at the end of our season just like we beat them in June at the end of their season (victories were to the team playing at home). There is very little in terms of quality between the top 4 sides in the world so getting all bent out of shape over on bad game is a bit ridiculous.
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