South Africa's last horse in the race for Super 14 honours, the Natal Sharks, fell at the second last hurdle on Saturday and it wasn't pretty.
The 28-13 win by the the Waratahs was primarily down to a rock solid defence which has served the Australians well right throughout the tournament. The Sharks battled to get over the advantage line, being driven back time and again.
This is by no means a criticism of the Waratahs – I have always maintained that to win big games and tournaments you have to first get your defence in order. They have and this makes for a great final against the Crusaders.
The Crusaders, the most successful side in the tournament's history, made 5 changes to their line-up for the match against the Hurricanes.
It showed as they dominated the Hurricanes 33-22 with Daniel Carter in ominous kicking form. As we all saw once the team had secured top spot it was hard to push themselves but that all changed on Saturday.
With Carter now getting some game time under his belt, home advantage and the experience of playing in their 10th final, the Crusaders are going to take some beating.
With the Waratah's defence this is not a foregone conclusion and should provide rugby with a great final.
IRB's CONSULTANT COACHES
I am delighted to be given the opportunity to join the team of consultant coaches and work on special projects within the Tier 2 and 3 countries around the world.
This forms part of the IRB's Strategic Investment Programme which will see £48 million invested in intensive programmes between 2009 and 2012.
I will be visiting Fiji and Samoa early in June for a series of clinics which will coincide with the IRB Pacific Nations Cup clash between the two on June 7 in Fiji. It is also envisaged that I will be assisting several European countries later in the year.
I am thrilled to be given the chance to get back into rugby particularly working with the countries who most need the help. It is an area I am very familiar with and hopefully I can contribute in some way to the growth and development of rugby in those countries.
Jake White speaking to Mike Trapido (Mail & Guardian)
Showing posts with label Super 14. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Super 14. Show all posts
Monday, May 26, 2008
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Welcome to Jake White's World
When I have long departed this world and moved on to a better place, I hope that some young boy in Japan, many years from now, upon hearing mention of the name will say - “Jake White? I remember him – he was a rugby man”.
That is how I would like to be remembered. Not as the coach of this or that team, the winner of some or other trophy or even a man who somehow revolutionised the game, simply that Jake White was a “rugby man”.
Someone with a great love for the game, it's participants, traditions, legends and who lived and breathed the sport of rugby. That is what it's all about and that's where I am coming from.
When I was growing up rugby was about playing a game, visiting a stadium to watch your team play, listening to their game on the radio or reading an article in the newspapers. In other words a million miles from where we are now.
Rugby fans today can watch games from anywhere around the world live on television . This includes internationals, Super 14 or 6 Nations, provincial games, 7s and a host of other tournaments; the list is endless. In between there is newspaper, radio, television and internet coverage on every aspect of the game.
The internet, all on its own, provides a multitude of options for fans from blogging and forums to team news and results. There really is no limit to the scope of your enjoyment or involvement – it's really is up to the individual supporter.
On my blog I would like to cover various aspects of the game – ranging from technical to trivial depending upon the mood of the game at the time I put my thoughts down on “paper”. I hope that you derive some benefit as well as enjoyment from your visits here. While the magic of the World Cup seems a lifetime ago the game has rapidly moved on.
Over the next few weeks I'll be letting you have my thoughts on some of the interesting things that I come across in the real beautiful game. To start with I'll be keeping an eye on the Super 14s last round of games coming up this weekend and let you have my thoughts on those shortly. Also there is the announcement of the next Springbok squad which should be of interest to locals.
I'll also try and throw in a couple of memories from the World Cup along with a look at one or two technical points. Here's hoping that through this blog we can build relationships, learn a little bit from each other and have some fun along the way.
(Jake White speaking to Mail & Guardian's Mike Trapido)
That is how I would like to be remembered. Not as the coach of this or that team, the winner of some or other trophy or even a man who somehow revolutionised the game, simply that Jake White was a “rugby man”.
Someone with a great love for the game, it's participants, traditions, legends and who lived and breathed the sport of rugby. That is what it's all about and that's where I am coming from.
When I was growing up rugby was about playing a game, visiting a stadium to watch your team play, listening to their game on the radio or reading an article in the newspapers. In other words a million miles from where we are now.
Rugby fans today can watch games from anywhere around the world live on television . This includes internationals, Super 14 or 6 Nations, provincial games, 7s and a host of other tournaments; the list is endless. In between there is newspaper, radio, television and internet coverage on every aspect of the game.
The internet, all on its own, provides a multitude of options for fans from blogging and forums to team news and results. There really is no limit to the scope of your enjoyment or involvement – it's really is up to the individual supporter.
On my blog I would like to cover various aspects of the game – ranging from technical to trivial depending upon the mood of the game at the time I put my thoughts down on “paper”. I hope that you derive some benefit as well as enjoyment from your visits here. While the magic of the World Cup seems a lifetime ago the game has rapidly moved on.
Over the next few weeks I'll be letting you have my thoughts on some of the interesting things that I come across in the real beautiful game. To start with I'll be keeping an eye on the Super 14s last round of games coming up this weekend and let you have my thoughts on those shortly. Also there is the announcement of the next Springbok squad which should be of interest to locals.
I'll also try and throw in a couple of memories from the World Cup along with a look at one or two technical points. Here's hoping that through this blog we can build relationships, learn a little bit from each other and have some fun along the way.
(Jake White speaking to Mail & Guardian's Mike Trapido)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
