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White begins work to turn things around for Brumbies
Jake White hopes a new off-season training camp program and the burning pain from last season will accelerate his plan to resurrect the ACT Brumbies.
White, who arrived in Australia on Tuesday, will begin his tenure as the Brumbies' new head coach when he moves into his Griffith office today.
But the World Cup-winning mentor has already started mapping out his vision for turning the club around after its worst campaign in its Super Rugby history.
To show he means business, he has organised four camps for his non-Wallaby players to be held over the next two months, the first at Narrabeen from July 25-28.
And with the bulk of the Brumbies squad now based in Sydney for club rugby, White, his assistants Stephen Larkham and Laurie Fisher and consultant coach George Gregan, will regularly put the players through gruelling training sessions.
Those will begin today with Gregan putting Nic White, Matt Toomua, Robbie Coleman and Christian Lealiifano through their paces.
''I've been waiting for a while to get here and now that I'm here I want to make sure everything is in place,'' White said.
''I can't afford to take another couple of days off just to get in the right time zone.
''I'd rather get them in [a camp] where they can eat properly, sleep properly and train properly and I guess to get to know each other.
''There's obviously a conditioning side to it and there's a rugby side ... the conditioning isn't a generic program, we want it to be professional enough that every guy gets exactly what he needs now and for next year.''
White also hopes Queensland recruits Kimami Sitauti and Ian Prior will spend time with the team in Sydney to fast-track their transition into the squad.
With new coaches and a revamped playing roster, White wants as much time as possible to start rebuilding.
That's why the South African started working as soon as he landed in the country.
The Brumbies finished a disastrous campaign last month, winning just four of their 16 games and finishing 13th on the ladder. White doesn't want to dwell on the past and what went wrong on the field.
But he does want his players to remember how much the defeats hurt, especially the crushing loss to the NSW Waratahs in the last round.
''The only thing they [the players] need to remember about this year is what it felt like not to do well,'' White said.
''There's nothing else we want to take from this year other than how they felt after every game and ending the way they ended for a franchise like the Brumbies.''
White still has three vacant spots in his 30-man squad. The Brumbies are still searching for an experienced international lock to strengthen the pack and White said the team could ''not afford the luxury'' of promoting a rising junior in the position.
With two full-time back contracts still available and four training squad spots up for grabs, White will invite fringe players to his training camps to cast his eye over some hopefuls.
''But I'm not going to rush [finalising the squad],'' White said.
''If we don't have those players, we'll wait and fringe players will come into the camps and bash it out to see how they fit in.''
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