For the first time in almost two decades, Jake White is back in international rugby, signing on to take Fiji through to the 2027 Rugby World Cup.
Following the announcement of his appointment, we take a look at the risks and rewards that could fall upon the Fijians from the gamble they are taking.
The top line
White becomes Fiji’s third head coach this year after Mick Byrne parted ways with the national team. The union’s chairman initially stated that the New Zealander’s departure was due to ongoing health issues, which he has since rubbished, stating that he was instead removed from his position.
Byrne explained that Fiji wanted to ‘move in a new direction’, which led to his removal as head coach and resulted in the appointment of Senirusi Seruvakula, who was hired in the interim as the union searched for a replacement.
Seruvakula oversaw the Flying Fijians’ Nations Championship defeats to Wales, England and Scotland respectively before leading the team to a Pacific Nations Cup final where they were dethroned as the competition’s champions by Eddie Jones’ Japan.
Now, it is White’s turn to take charge of the team as he makes his long-awaited return to international rugby. The experienced coach has made no secret of his desire to return to the Test arena since leading the Springboks to Rugby World Cup glory over England in Paris.
He arrives at the helm of the Pacific Island nation boasting a glittering CV since John Smit hoisted the William Webb Ellis Cup aloft, holding top roles in Australia, South Africa, France and Japan. He coached the likes of the Brumbies, Sharks, Montpellier, Toyota Verblitz, and most recently the Bulls.
White arrives as a hugely experienced coach who is well renowned around the world but comes with a host of preconceived notions about him, some of which he may have to dispel in order to be successful with the Fijians.
Jake White beats Warren Gatland to World Cup gig and makes style promise: ‘What excites me most’
Schoolboy disciplinarian
The first major threat to White’s success with Fiji is that he is renowned to be rather old-school when it comes to his stronghold on his teams, ruling like a dictator or perhaps more fittingly, a headmaster. White cut his teeth as a young coach at his Alma Mater, Jeppe High School for Boys, where he worked his way up the ranks, eventually becoming the Junior Boks head coach.
The early success he had as a young coach has shaped his career and his approach to coaching, which has earned him a reputation for being somewhat of a supreme disciplinarian. That has worked well for him in the past but has also perhaps contributed to his failures and at times resulted in his departures from certain positions.
His most recent role in professional rugby is an example of just that, with reports emerging that players were unhappy with his leadership style, so much so that Ruan Nortje and Marcell Coetzee led a player delegation to Bulls management to express their dissatisfaction.
If White is to continue with the heavy-handed leadership style, how the players respond to that will be crucial to Fiji’s success or failure under the new head coach. It certainly feels as though there will be no middle ground in this regard; it is a recipe for mutiny or unity.
Style clash, can Jake marry brutality with free-flowing attack?
Speak to any rugby fan about Fijian players and they rave about their ability with ball in hand, with the Pacific Islanders heralded for their ability to offload in contact and their attacking flair. Ask about White and most will tell you that he deploys conservative, kick-heavy tactics akin to the Springboks strengths. He was heavily criticised for these tactics during his tenure in charge of the Brumbies and used a similar template at Montpellier.
White also prioritises size, physicality and brutality in his pack, something that he will have no shortage of with Fiji’s player pool. What will arguably be his biggest challenge is marrying his personal style of play with that of the Fijians, and if he is able to do just that, the sky is the limit for this team.
There are Fijians scattered across clubs in Europe and in Super Rugby Pacific, many of whom are among the league’s best players, which simply highlights the potential of the team, and White realises this.
“There are very few nations where the game means so much to its people, and where the players bring such extraordinary natural ability, courage and passion to the field,” he said in a statement confirming his appointment.
His later comments suggest that he is well-aware that marrying the strengths of the Fijians with those that have garnered him success previously is a lethal combination.
“What excites me most about Fiji is the potential. This is a nation that has already shown it can challenge the world’s rugby powers. My responsibility is to work with the players, coaches and everyone involved in Fiji Rugby to build on that foundation and turn potential into consistent performances,” he added.
“I am not coming to Fiji to change what makes Fijian rugby special. I want to protect that identity, strengthen it and combine it with the structures, discipline and winning habits that will allow these players to express their talents on the biggest stage.”
Support staff will be crucial
By White’s own admission, he has a responsibility to work well with the other Fiji Rugby coaches, again something that reportedly contributed to his Bulls’ exit.
According to Rapport, White’s situation in Pretoria was exacerbated after he lost the support of assistant coaches Chris Rossouw and Andries Bekker as well as the club’s chief executive Edgar Rathbone.
It’s something that contributed to Jones’ downfall previously too, and not only will it be important that the former Boks boss works well with his new assistant coaches but also that he hires the right assistants to lay the foundation for his vision of the new Fiji.
Greater set-piece focus
Like most South African coaches, White places a huge importance on the set-piece, and that is an area of the game where Fiji desperately require improvements, particularly against Tier One opposition. In fact, it’s generally the area of the game where Tier Two nations come undone against the traditional powerhouses in the game, and the Fijians are no exception.
Raw numbers from the July Nations Championship fixtures suggest that it isn’t an area of concern for the Fijians, who had a 95.89% lineout and 88.51% scrum success rates on their own ball across the three fixtures, but look beyond those raw numbers and the weaknesses are exposed.
For example, the Fijians didn’t win a single scrum penalty through the 270 minutes of action and across 12 teams in the tournament they conceded the most penalties at the set-piece (9) – three more than the next most indisciplined scrum (Japan).
This is where White’s disciplinarian rule could be a real asset for the Fijians rather than a liability, but throughout his career he has prioritised a strong set-piece which includes the lineout.
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Again, the raw numbers suggest that isn’t an area of the game where Fiji are falling short, but the Pacific Islanders routinely threw to the front of the lineout throughout July, which has a domino effect on what comes next.
To break it down, 161 tries were scored in the July Nations Championship internationals. 79 of those scores were sourced from the lineout, ie. 49.07%, with a further four tries coming from lineout steals. It was hardly a successful July for the Fijians, who were soundly beaten in all three of their matches and scored just seven tries in total, four of which came from the lineout, but perhaps a greater focus on the set-piece and winning the ball in more favourable positions to launch attacks from will make a huge difference. As for the mauls, the Fijians gained just 24 metres from the driving maul in the three matches, the second-lowest tally in July.
For all that went wrong during the latter stages of White’s time at the Bulls, the team remained a real force in the set-pieces and had one of the most dominant scrums and effective lineouts in the United Rugby Championship.
A short-term gamble that can blow up
All in all, the Fijian Rugby Union is taking a huge gamble on an experienced coach who hasn’t been at the highest level for almost two decades. White has proven pedigree at club level over the last 20 years, but the questions around whether he can replicate that on the international scene are certainly warranted, and only time will provide us with those answers.
What does work in their favour, however, is that White has a track record of making almost immediate improvements wherever he has gone which bodes well for the 2027 Rugby World Cup with a tricky Pool C awaiting them, having been drawn with Canada, Spain and Argentina.
Whether White remains in charge beyond the tournament remains to be seen but this appointment certainly as the potential to be cataclysmic, but also the kind of move that could take Fiji into another stratosphere.