Scrum of the Earth /

So ScrumoftheEarth buddy, Jake White, has pinpointed his next rugby role - the Director of Rugby for South Africa - according to Afrikaaans journal, Die Burger.

Current Boks coach Pieter de Villiers is under fire after a morale-shattering Tri-Nations campaign and despite his position being safe courtesy of the dreaded vote of confidence, White desperately wants to help out.

Although SARU president Oregan Hoskins dismissed the existence of the role and clarified that no discussions with the former coach have taken place.

Read Jake White's Exclusive interview with ScrumoftheEarth here

I never allowed myself to be a puppet…

It’s probably why we were so successful. I had the job and I was always going to do it the way I wanted, because I realised you’re going to get fired anyway, too may coaches do what everyone else wants to do, then get fired, so if I was going to get fired at least I can go to bed knowing I cost myself my job.

My most pressured part...

2006, by a mile – for me the first part of Tri-Nations, when we were hammered 49-0, there was a lot of talk about me going to the UK as a rugby director. It created a lot of uncertainty for the players.

I knew if they were going to get rid of me, it wouldn’t be too close to the World Cup, so they were always going to make that decision at the beginning of the Tri-Nations.

Everything came at the same time - the hardest parts, around the hardest games, on the most difficult tours, and the most horrific injuries. Schalk [Burger] broke his neck, Bakkies [Botha] did is Achilles - it was the worst 3-4 month period of my life, I just had nowhere to turn, everything was just snowballing.

Fighting politics…

There’s simply nothing worse than for black players to be told he is going to play because of the colour of his skin.  As white men we tend to forget that. They don’t realise what hurt you do to the young guy.

Imagine if Bryan Habana found out he was playing because he was a coloured guy. It would be a sin. Would he have played 20 years ago when we had apartheid? The answer is no. Now isn’t that sad if a guy like him would never have played rugby at international level because of apartheid.

Team spirit...

I’m very happy that every player involved felt that he deserved to be there - black white, 20 or 30 - I feel proud that in four years, no one came out and said I’m feeling like a spare part.

At the end of World Cup those players in the 30 were more overjoyed about winning the World Cup than the guys in the 22. That tells the story.

If they felt like they were hanging on, carrying the bags, do you think they would’ve behaved like they did when the final whistle went? I always say to the people when we pick the 22, the guy that must be the happiest must be the 23rd guy.

Realising your dreams…

You’ve got to live your dream. I’ve been very lucky, I wrote an essay in my school exam - I think I failed - and I remember saying, I want to be Springbok player or coach. People laughed at me, I was 17, and in those days English-speaking non-Springboks were never going to coach South Africa.

You have to genuinely live and believe in what you want to do. Maybe I will become a Springbok doctor or a Springbok physiotherapist, but I wanted to be involved in rugby at Springbok level.

Rugby was good to me. In the pecking order, I was near to the top because of rugby union. I ate more than most kids sat at the table, at weekends I used to baby-sit my teachers kids, I could get ice cream out of the fridge because they’d gone to the movies. Those things drove me on because I realised how important rugby was as a young boy by making sure you got in the inside lane.

If I could’ve been involved in another sport…

I’d like to have been a top class golfer, playing at the Masters and the British Open. Playing at St. Andrews or Augusta would’ve been very special for me.

My hardest tenure…

Flying home from tour hurt me the most. I was embarrassed for the younger players on tour. I wasn’t proud of what message, or the situation it put Francois Steyn in. On his first tour, for the coach to go home - he has lived his whole life to be a Springbok and lived his whole life to be on tour - it’s a bit embarrassing.

I always preached about how special it was to be Springbok, to play in the colours, and to go on tour and then half way through I get called back home. I was embarrassed for everybody.

All the standards and things I thought were very important and non-negotiable were almost being contradicted by the fact that I was going back home.

To read the final part of Jake White's Exclusive click here

My worst rugby nightmare…

That South Africa doesn’t stay a top playing rugby nation for rest of time. I would really like my grandkids and their grandkids to know that I was involved in Springbok rugby.

There’s nothing worse than being an old boy going back to school - I explained that to the players - and it’s no longer any good at rugby. It hurts. So my biggest fear for rugby is that South Africa falls by the wayside, and it doesn’t stay the way it is for the rest of time.

My biggest indulgence...

I like nice clothes

My best trait..

I’d like to believe that I can get on with anybody - it’s important to be appreciated and I’m very thankful for what I have and for the opportunity that has been given to me.

I continually tell myself how lucky I am to be where I am, and to do and achieve what I’ve done. It’s important to treat people with a bit of respect. You want mutual respect.

My pet hates...

I can get really irritated if i’m around people that are incompetent. I can’t take incompetence - for me it’s just not good enough.

I hate bullies, and I hate spoiled kids, they are two things I really can’t stand.

Rugby's so special...

People talk about the smell of winter green and the dubbin on the leather rugby balls. Those are the things you grow up with. Another thing is that special unique camaraderie you only get in rugby union.

You can go anywhere in the world and talk rugby. It doesn’t matter what country your in, you can have a debate with that guy, and be able to get on with that person.

It’s almost like a brotherhood. Rugby union is a brotherhood. Any guys involved at any level, be it a c-team at school or an international, there’s something about that person that’s unique.

To read part III click here

What I still want to achieve...

I don’t have too many things I want to achieve in rugby union. I’ve been very fortunate on many occasions - winning the junior and senior World Cups, Tri-Nations, coach of the year twice, team of year twice and the world team of the year at the Lareaus Sports Awards - so from a rugby point of view, I’ve been really lucky, It’s been really kind to me.

I don’t really get up in the morning and get up in the morning and think ‘geez what else is there to do’ but saying that rugby is such a special thing and such a special game to be involved in.

I’m sure there’ll be something that’ll come up that’ll really entice me to get me back involved, but when the final whistle went in the World Cup final, I felt a sense of relief, as being in a cauldron every single Saturday takes its toll on you.

How I would like to be remembered...

The most important thing for me is to get remembered as a rugby man. Any guy involved in rugby knows what that means - to encompass everything - and when people say, ‘you remember Jake White’, I hope they say ‘that guy was a rugby man.’

My greatest achievement...

The best day of life was when I became the Springbok coach. For an English-speaking non-Springbok to become coach of the national team is a hell of an achievement. Guys like Ken McIntosh and Keith Christie weren’t Springboks, and it was almost a bit of a closed shop then, so winning the World Cup was a real highlight for me.

My idea of perfect rugby happiness...

A couch, remote control, and rugby on every single channel.

To read part two click here

Down at the Guinness Premiership launch at the oh so swanky Park Lane Hilton, most of the monotonous merry-go-round was about as entertaining as a rainy weekend in Margate, but praise the lord for Eddie Jones.

A positive spin on the Experimental Law Variations is as rare as an endorsement of Paris Hilton’s pop career - even Barrack Obama would struggle to turn the new laws into gold - and the latest scathing attack on the ELVs has hit harder and deeper than the Titanic plundered into the Atlantic.

Saracens boss, Jones, pointed rugby’s sinking ship to similar mire to cricket’s voyage into reality sports television.

Most of the Guinness Premiership bosses took a somewhat more Tony Blair approach to diplomacy, but Jones launched himself so far off the fence, humpty dumpty didn't fall as fast.

"The important thing is to improve rugby. To judge the ELVs you have to ask 'have they made the game better?"' Jones argued.

"Better does not necessarily mean more entertaining. If you want entertainment, you watch Twenty20 cricket. We don't want rugby to be Twenty20 cricket.

"That has to be the judgment line. These changes have been made with a view to entertainment, not to improving rugby.”

Why couldn’t he just say ‘if it’s not broken, don’t fix it.’