28-11-2006, 08:59 PM
November 28, 2006 Edition 2
THE PATTERN is becoming a familiar one: a Springbok coach starts his tenure in encouraging fashion but eventually finds himself trapped in a nightmare of poor results and political back-stabbing.
And so current coach Jake White is required to fly home today to face rugby's President's Council, which will apparently decide on his future.
There have been quite a few calls for White to be sacked, based largely on a run of poor results which has seen the Boks slip down the world rankings. Some of the more Machiavellian operators in rugby are beginning to circle.
White has done himself little favour with his handling of the Luke Watson issue. The impression has been created that the decision not to pick the player was based on personal issues rather than those related to rugby.
His inter-personal skills also appear to have deteriorated as the pressure mounted, leading to a sometimes fractious relationship with the media.
THE PATTERN is becoming a familiar one: a Springbok coach starts his tenure in encouraging fashion but eventually finds himself trapped in a nightmare of poor results and political back-stabbing.
And so current coach Jake White is required to fly home today to face rugby's President's Council, which will apparently decide on his future.
There have been quite a few calls for White to be sacked, based largely on a run of poor results which has seen the Boks slip down the world rankings. Some of the more Machiavellian operators in rugby are beginning to circle.
White has done himself little favour with his handling of the Luke Watson issue. The impression has been created that the decision not to pick the player was based on personal issues rather than those related to rugby.
His inter-personal skills also appear to have deteriorated as the pressure mounted, leading to a sometimes fractious relationship with the media.