In normal circumstances, players will back their coach/es no matter what. No matter what has occured during the season, players will still stand by the man/woman in charge. That message wasn't sent to Pretoria, South Africa and the rugby union team, The Blue Bulls. This is because a munity has arisen against director of rugby, Jake White.
According to Rapport, captain, Ruan Nortje and fellow Springbok, Marcell Coetzee, led a player delegation that met with Bulls management to express dissatisfaction with director of rugby White’s leadership.
The group is said to have demanded urgent intervention, with some players reportedly threatening not to renew or even to terminate contracts if change isn’t forthcoming.
It’s also believed that the relationship between White and assistant coaches, Chris Rossouw and Andries Bekker, has soured to the point that they barely spoke during the URC final defeat to Leinster two weeks ago. White’s public criticism of players is cited as a factor in the breakdown, alongside post-match comments in Dublin where the former Springbok boss suggested the Bulls couldn’t compete with Leinster’s depth.
Although the full reasons for the players’ dissatisfaction haven't been revealed, some of White’s media statements about certain players have contributed to the unhappiness in the Bulls camp. A typical example was White’s comment late last year that highly rated Springboks outside back, Canan Moodie, "had eaten too much food at the buffet" while on tour with the Bulls.
Bulls insiders revealed that White’s relationship with his assistants had deteriorated to such an extent that they didn't communicate with each other during last the United Rugby Championship (URC) final defeat against Leinster at Croke Park.
Leinster cruised to a 32-7 victory in that encounter and after the match, White reportedly worsened his relationship with his players and assistants by hailing the Irish province’s player depth and saying the Bulls couldn't compete with their opponents. That defeat was the Bulls’ third in a final since the URC began in the 2021/22 season.
Earlier this season, Edgar Rathbone’s help was apparently requested to resolve an explosive situation between White and Bekker while the Bulls were on tour. That episode is seemingly one of several incidents that contributed to Rathbone and White’s relationship no longer being as healthy as it used to be.
"We are not going to respond to the rumours," Bulls president, Willem Strauss, told Rapport. "All I can say is that we have a board meeting on July 4 where we will, as usual, evaluate the past season and discuss the way forward. We would have preferred that nothing about this appeared in the media on Sunday."
According to Rapport‘s information, Strauss has said earlier this season that a new voice was needed at Loftus Versfeld.
Johan Ackermann could possibly become that voice if the Bulls’ management decide that the relationship between White, his players and the rest of his backroom staff has become untenable.
If White, who was the Springboks’ head coach when they won the 2007 Rugby World Cup in France, is forced to leave his position, Ackermann is expected to take charge of the Bulls’ URC side. White had previously been in touch with Ackermann in the hope that he could coach the Bulls during this year’s Currie Cup competition.
Ex-Lions coach Ackermann is currently assisting the Junior Boks and is expected to be available after the U20 Championship in July. Rapport notes that White previously approached Ackermann to coach the Bulls’ Currie Cup side, and that the 55-year-old has strong ties to CEO, Edgar Rathbone and president, Willem Strauss
Disharmony between a coach and a player/s is a dangerous combination. Something like this can create a breakdown in team performances. These performances can be so low that they can find themselves at the bottom of the table. The best course of action is to identify the origin and then oust that person/people. It seems that in this case, Jake White is the culprit. Kicking him to the curb might soothe things over for the team.