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Cape Town - Former Springbok coach Jake White says SA Rugby should heed advice from South Africa’s new President Cyril Ramaphosa.
Ramaphosa delivered his inaugural State of the Nation address in Cape Town last Friday.
This followed the resignation of former President Jacob Zuma, who stepped down after being recalled by the African National Congress (ANC).
White, who currently coaches Japanese side Toyota Verblitz, took note of Ramaphosa's speech and feels several of the points raised can be applied for the greater good of South African rugby.
“SA Rugby should almost copy and paste his speech and swap political terms with words like ‘rugby’, ‘schools’, ‘clubs’, ‘players’ and ‘administrators’,” White wrote via a column for the All Out Rugby website.
White continued: “He said his words were not lip service and that things would be measured, and he spoke about taking ownership of that. And that’s exactly what we need in SA Rugby - people taking ownership and responsibility for getting it right.
“The President said he’s not going to tolerate corruption and one of the things that resonated with me is that he said no government member is going to be involved in procurement. Instead, there will be a special committee to deal with procurement. It should be the same in our rugby - no jobs for pals.”
White also hinted that the rugby governing body should bring in new personnel.
“We’re all eager to see who the President appoints to work with him in rolling out his plans and we’re all hopeful he’ll pick the best people for the job. It shouldn’t be any different in SA Rugby - hiring the best people for the job and having the people in charge who take responsibility for achieving the objectives. He spoke about transformation, equality and getting the most out of the youth. That goes hand in hand with rugby.”
CLICK HERE to read Jake White’s full column on the All Out Rugby website
In December last year, White had also hit out at SA Rugby's top brass when he called for a full review of its board. White questioned that Allister Coetzee, who was subsequently sacked as Springbok coach, should not carry all the blame for the team's woes.
Coetzee won only 11 of 25 Tests in charge of the national team (44% win-ratio) and was relieved of his duties earlier this month.
White also criticised SA Rugby for hiring people "without even asking them to apply for positions".
The 54-year-old coached the Springboks between 2004 and 2007, but his contract was not renewed despite winning the 2007 Rugby World Cup.
He has also coached the Brumbies, Sharks and Montpellier.
