Wallaby brushing forced White's hand

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IT was a throwaway line that at the time seemed a well-timed joked by a man able to make light of a tough situation.

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Jake White, who has quit as Brumbies coach after taking them to the Super Rugby grand final this year and having another two years left on his contract, was in a buoyant mood on July 20, on a cold Canberra morning.

This was after he had been beaten to the Wallabies job by Ewen McKenzie, and a day before the Brumbies' preliminary final against the Cheetahs, and after his press conference White was putting on an Australian accent to the guffaws of three journalists.

It was called out to the South African White, as he walked to his training session with the reporters remaining behind, that he was already true-blue.

Without missing a beat or step, White called out: "If I was Australian I would be the Wallabies coach now".
We laughed.

White continued: "It's the truth, I speak the truth and I get in trouble for it".

Few, until now, realised how deeply White was cut by missing out on Australian rugby's top job.

There was some incredible miscommunication in White's discussions with the ARU, because the World Cup-winning master coach had started sounding out associates about being part of his staff at the Wallabies days before McKenzie was announced as the successor to Robbie Deans.

White was livid.

He had been led to believe that he was getting the job.

He felt betrayed and used, like the ARU had made their minds up on McKenzie being coach a long time ago and he was a pawn to make the application process look fair.

White had been approached about his interest in coaching the Wallabies in February.

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He held a secret meeting in Melbourne with an ARU panel in late June, when it was clear Deans would not be persisted with.

In the week that ensued White was super-confident of being given the job, and the vibe being given to the media was the same.

White had a key supporter at the highest level of the ARU, and made an impressive and compelling presentation.
But the rest is a mystery. Those close to White believe that at the 11th hour, a highly influential ARU figure threatened to quit if White, and not McKenzie, was appointed Wallabies coach, and they back-tracked.

Others say McKenzie was always going to get the job because he was more attack-minded, at a time the Wallabies needed an injection of excitement to lure back bored spectators.

ARU chief executive Bill Pulver gave rise to that theory when he said in the days after his organisation's decision that McKenzie's more exciting coaching style, and his Australian ethnicity, helped sway the decision.

White went on to pull off a miracle, becoming the first coach in Super Rugby history to win a semi-final in Pretoria, knocking off the Bulls before his Brumbies lost in Hamilton to the Chiefs.

But he was obviously still stewing on the missed opportunity at the Wallabies up to this week, when he asked the Brumbies board for a release and received one on Wednesday night.

White is in South Africa and it's understood he met with his club captain Ben Mowen – touring with the Wallabies – to explain his decision.

Brumbies players were shocked, some discovering the news on social media and news websites on Wednesday night.

But while White may have been angry at the ARU's rejection, it cannot fully explain his decision to leave.

The man who guided South Africa to the 2007 World Cup had gone through a similar situation in his first week in charge at Canberra when England showed interest in him.

White returned the interest, but the fury of the Brumbies players convinced him to stay, and make a dedication to see through the next four years.

When key players and staff came off contract, White convinced them to remain in Canberra to finish the job they had all started.

Mowen, Stephen Moore, David Pocock, Ben Alexander, Pat McCabe and more re-signed with the franchise in the belief they would be coached by White. Sam Carter, Fotu Auelua, Andrew Smith were re-signed after White was overlooked for the Wallabies role.

They will now be questioning their decisions.

Already White has been linked to the Stormers and Sharks coaching jobs in South Africa.

If he is homesick that is understandable, but White did sign for four years knowing that is a long time in Canberra, and he did apply for the Wallabies job with the intention of remaining in Australia for a long time.

Assistants Stephen Larkham and Laurie Fisher remain, and are capable of taking the Brumbies forward in White's absence.

In three weeks the Brumbies players will return to pre-season without the man largely credited for turning their dysfunctional franchise into title aspirants.

Classic timing.

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