Wednesday, 31st October 2007 at 5:39 pm

No surprises as Jake White departs

Saddened? Most certainly. Surprised? No, unfortunately not. That Jake White survived the gauntlet of South African rugby for as long as he did, let alone won the World Cup, is testament to his self-belief, his ability, and above all his political agility in a job that traditionally oscillates furiously between political target and public hero.

And so leaving after winning the World Cup was always on the cards - there is nothing more to prove, and dealing with the multiple pleasures of a job that holds much of the appeal of being a cash-in-transit driver, has been White’s cross for long enough. But what does have you shaking your head - in wonder, in shock, in sheer disbelief - is the bloody-minded arrogance of a crew of administrators somehow immune to the magnitude of White’s achievement.

There is almost a suggestion in the ludicrous insistence that White re-apply for his job, that th coach was somehow peripheral to the World Cup victory; that the administrators clamouring to the coat-tails of the team upon its return, were somehow convinced that they played a role in the tournament being won. No meaningful effort from SARU to keep Jake White is breathtaking - and another illustration of exactly why the man the rest of the rugby world is courting furiously, is bidding us farewell. And who can blame him; Jake White, no one can argue, really does deserve better.