Are the Brumbies up the Creek..

[louie]

Tim Gavel is reporting that Jake White has been approached by the RFU and has said he's interested.

after one game.... what a joke. nice one fagan.

 

[RedsHappy]

I read it as that as well, but who knows what he actually meant. I assume, though, that England won't want to spend this year waiting for Jake to finish with the Brums and it seems rather unlikely that he'd leave right now so my leaning is that it won't happen.

If I was a Brumbies supporter and White did bail I would be mightily pissed off, that's for sure.

Re England: on the contrary, Ritchie has said England will wait until it can secure a head coach whom in their view is the best possible candidate, based upon a proactive global search process. If by chance White was their target and he said he'd come to Twickenham in, say, November 2012, they'd live with that.

As someone else has noted: one wonders if England might approach Deans instead? (Or was that just a dream I had?)

 

[Tiger]

Iain Payten just tweeted the following:

BRUMBIES: Jake White has been sounded out for England job and "has declared interest in exploring his options".

 

[Slim 293]

Tim Gavel is reporting that Jake White has been approached by the RFU and has said he's interested.

after one game.... what a joke. nice one fagan.

You couldn't blame Fagan for this one... if White does happen to leave...

He's signed him for 4 years which was a great move... and if White does decide to leave at the end of the year it will be interesting how the Brumbies deal with him...

He's essentially created a coaching setup to tailor his needs... if the Brumbies had to recruit a new head coach some of those assistants will be worrying about their jobs...

 

[barbarian]

It is certainly a difficult situation for all parties. Can you really blame Jake White for wanting to coach England in their home World Cup? Maybe. If he was English it would be a lot easier to forgive. But still it is a very tempting offer, one probably too good to turn down.

The Brumbies are probably going to get screwed over (if White gets the job). But I suppose if Jake puts some good systems in place then the next guy (Laurie Fisher again perhaps?) will have a far easier job.

At the end of the day the Brumbies can't do much but wish Nick Mallett all the best in beating Jake to the position.

 

[Godfrey]

This is a shitty situation. There were so many good vibes coming out of the Brumbies pre-season. I hope it blows over and they can all concentrate on what matters.

 

[louie]

Fagan could have stopped his. Also fagan should have been 100% sure he wanted to come to brumbies and no where else before offering him the job. If the contract was negotiated correctly he shouldn't be able to apply for another (and most likely get) job without the brumbies being heavily compensated. The damage this could cause the brumbies long term will be massive. Could end the club.

 

[Slim 293]

Now now... let's not get melodramatic...

White has pretty much been off the radar until he got the Brumbies' job.

Unfortunately Fagan can't really stop him from international offers.

I'm sure if he were to go there is something in place to compensate the Brumbies...

 

[louie]

What worries me is the burmbies fan base has been dwindling for years. If another coach leaves i think a lot of fans will turn there backs on the club.

I have lost a massive amount of respect for Jake over this. All his crap about building for the future has just turned out to be lies. Clearly a man with no integrity.

 

[RedsHappy]

Louie, I'm inclined to agree with your assessment, the ACTRU needed to be very, very sure White was committed to Canberra for this to be a tolerable mix of risk and reward for them and not a damaging, sponsor and general income killing debacle if White was effectively using the Brumbies as a near term stepping stone.

It was always known that international Test coaching roles could well come open post RWC, including possibly Australia's as many thought if Deans did badly (despite the extension), Johnson's hold on the role was considered fragile in 2011, as was PdeV's, and Mallett was bound to be leaving, post RWCs are the most volatile Test coaches' periods and this was sure to be true in late 2011 and early 2012 just as White was starting in Canberra. (Btw, imagine the outrage if Deans had started to wander elsewhere in say 2009.)

See the latest on RugbyHeaven. Leaks that Brumbies sources have confirmed White has actually already accepted the England job. Sadly, they certainly didn't deserve it, but this uncertainty is turning into a nasty little mess for them that could get much worse. Great pity if it pans out negatively as I thought White would be great for Aus rugby, and the Brumbies, and the ACTRU in principle was to be congratulated for hiring him, not a second-rater.

 

[barbarian]

Hypothetically if JW had already accepted the England job before 2012, and before he signed with the Brumbies, would you still sign him for one season?

I'd wager you probably would. Get him to clean the place up, get some systems in place, then hand over to a qualified assistant coach who he could train up during the year. A bit like what the Rebels did with McQueen and Hill.

 

[brumsfan]

At the time White was signed (before the world cup) no international jobs were up for grabs, poor performances by England, South Africa and Australia created opportunities. I don't think everyone should get self righteous or look for blame, its just a fact of life, given the option of Brumbies or England not many would stay.

The problem for the Brumbies, if it is true, is that it has been leaked by England, forcing Jake to have to deny it, so as not to derail the team this year. Until he has been offered the job he will be at the Brumbies so no point making it a 2012 problem for the team.
I for one, want to see a strong Brumbies side running the ball not a kick fest, which is what I am more concerned about for this year.

 

[louie]

100% not. From the early stages it looks as if the McQueen to Hill transition hasn't worked out well at all. The Brumbes have put a lot of faith and money into Jakes ideas. The brought in new coaching staff, new facilities and players. All what he wanted and he's already thinking of leaving. Thanks for nothing Jake.

 

[louie]

I don't think everyone should get self righteous or look for blame, its just a fact of life, given the option of Brumbies or England not many would stay.

Jake prides himself on his professionalism. This is completely unprofessional.

 

[Slim 293]

I'm going to wait and see what happens over the next few weeks as there's no point being outraged until something is confirmed...

It also makes me wonder if the Brumbies were that province that Growden (and it pains me to reference him) mentioned had been in contact with Michael Cheika?

 

[Troy]

This is all still speculation, Mallett is also still on the list and he was also a very good coach for SA. Under him they had their most ever consecutive wins equaling the AB's (17 I think). He's also done alot for Italy and as far as I am aware would be available for an immediate start..

 

[brumsfan]

I disagree, Anyone in the work place will move if a better opportunity, higher profile or better paid job comes up. If Robbie Deans were sacked tomorrow and the job offered to Ewen, he would take it, and the reds would have to find a replacement.

From what I hear he has turned a second rate rugby program (gone are the glory days) into a highly professional one. Training, eating, team bonding are all up on recent years. With a bit of luck the foundation has been set and we will have some good performances this year and something to build on, with or without Jake White.

 

[p.Tah]

I disagree, Anyone in the work place will move if a better opportunity, higher profile or better paid job comes up. If Robbie Deans were sacked tomorrow and the job offered to Ewen, he would take it, and the reds would have to find a replacement.

From what I hear he has turned a second rate rugby program (gone are the glory days) into a highly professional one. Training, eating, team bonding are all up on
recent years. With a bit of luck the foundation has been set and we will have some good performances this year and something to build on, with or without
Jake White.

Ewen has it in his contract that he can move to the top job if it's available, but no one would begrudge him doing that because he has delivered for QLD. White really has done very little yet. He has been there 8 months of a 4 year contract. To up and leave now (if he does) is very unprofessional. The fact that the rumor has persisted for months indicates to me he is going unfortunately.

The first game England VS Australia is going to be interesting.

 

[RedsHappy]

Hypothetically if JW had already accepted the England job before 2012, and before he signed with the Brumbies, would you still sign him for one season?

I'd wager you probably would. Get him to clean the place up, get some systems in place, then hand over to a qualified assistant coach who he could train up during the year. A bit like what the Rebels did with McQueen and Hill.

Barb, theoretically a very good observation/prognosis, but which 2012 Brumbies asst coach do you consider talented and experienced enough to lift the Brumbies back up into the upper S15 ranks? Remember, everyone to a man agreed that this was/is a truly tough assignment given today's Brumbies' playing stocks, the recent history, and the badly declining crowds.

 

[barbarian]

Mmm that's the problem, and if you knew in advance you would obviously endeavour to bring in a better assistant coach than the ones presently employed.

Laurie Fisher would seem to be the obvious candidate, but that seems too much of a step backwards. Surely Larkham et al are too green.

.