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WORLD Cup-winning Springbok coach Jake White has revealed he was sounded out by a representative of the Western Force's main sponsor, Emirates, as a possible coaching replacement for embattled incumbent John Mitchell.
Although he wouldn't rule out accepting the Force job if it became vacant - which Rugby WA chairman Geoff Stooke insisted will not happen until Mitchell's contract expires in 2011 - White revealed he would love to coach the Wallabies or the NSW Waratahs. Speaking from London last night, White told The Australian the approach about the Force coaching position "was not a formal thing".
"I was at a function when an Emirates man came up and said to me there was a lot of talk about player unrest over John Mitchell and the last thing they wanted, having got Matt Giteau, Nathan Sharpe and a lot of talented young guys to come across to Perth, was to now lose them," White said.
The Emirates representative indicated to White, coach of the South African side that won the last World Cup in 2007, if Mitchell was to go, they wanted to bring in "someone on the same level".
Stooke and Force chief executive Greg Harris were adamant the approach was not authorised by the franchise and was made without its knowledge.
Like all the Force's other sponsors, Emirates was made aware late last year of player unrest over Mitchell's management style and informed that an independent inquiry was to be conducted.
"I've spoken to a number of people from Emirates but at no point in time have we ever suggested we'd want them to approach Jake White or anyone else on our behalf," Stooke said.
"John Mitchell is head coach and will be until 2011. The outcome of the inquiry has been very positive and we're very happy with the current situation." Nonetheless, the chance encounter was perfectly timed to excite White's interest, coming shortly before his marriage last month to Lindy Taberer, a Zimbabwean woman who lived for a time in Perth until her former husband died of cancer. She still owns a house in Perth and is keen to return to live in Australia in order to qualify for residency.
"That's why I was looking at maybe spending some time in Australia," White said.
"I'm not saying I wouldn't take the Force job if it was offered. There is no such thing as 'never' for a rugby coach. I'd love to coach in Australia, but if I was to do so, there is another team that has always fascinated me, the one team that has always underperformed - the Waratahs. If the Waratahs could ever get everything right off the field, no one could ever touch them."
NSWRU chief executive Jim L'Estrange, who went through the exhausting process of finding a replacement for dumped Waratahs coach Ewen McKenzie last year before settling on Chris Hickey, said last night the Waratahs were flattered by White's interest but had made the changes necessary to throw off the underachiever tag.
Like Mitchell, Hickey's contract runs through to 2011 and while the Waratahs are yet to demonstrate any of the flair for which Hickey-coached teams are renowned, they have won their opening two Super rugby matches under him.
White revealed he had made known his personal circumstances and his desire to coach in Australia to ARU chief executive John O'Neill.
The former Springbok coach had been alerted in advance of his side winning the World Cup in November 2007 that he would not be reappointed South African coach, irrespective of the outcome.
He momentarily considered applying for the Wallabies job when it appeared certain that New Zealand would dump Graham Henry and install Robbie Deans as All Blacks coach. But when Deans fell foul of NZRFU internal politics and Henry and his coaching team were retained, there was never any doubt the Crusaders boss would be named as Wallabies coach.
Deans' contract takes him through to the 2011 World Cup and should he be successful with the Wallabies it's likely New Zealand would offer him the All Blacks position on a silver platter. At that point, White could well come back into the reckoning to replace him in Australia.
"Of course I'd love to coach the Wallabies," White said. "If you look at the South African game structure, Eddie Jones' influence, from his time at the Brumbies and then with Australia, came through in the way the Springboks played in the four years I was their coach.
"And I'm sure there were things the Springboks did that influenced Australia."
White insisted he would not necessarily only be interested in a high-profile coaching job in this country. "To be fair, I'd love to be involved in Australian rugby, even in the development level," he said. Specifically, he would like to help bring on a whole new generation of good Australian props.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au...8-2722,00.html
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