/ 26 November 2005

Bok team here to stay, says White

The present South Africa side should still be the one to represent the 1995 World Cup winners in the 2007 renewal, coach Jake White said on Friday.

The 41-year-old has turned the fortunes of the Springboks around since he took over after the debacle of the 2003 World Cup, where the Boks went out in the quarterfinals but were subsequently reduced to farce because of revelations about pre-finals training at boot camps where players had been forced to walk naked through the bush.

However, there was no suggestion from White — the 2004 International Rugby Board coach of the year after landing the Tri-Nations — that such measures would be repeated. Rather, he indicated that the squad that have beaten Argentina and Wales and face France in Paris on Saturday will be the same one in 2007.

”We still have two years to build a team,” said White, who has guided South Africa to 17 victories in 24 Tests. ”In two years, logically we will have the same squad as we do now for the World Cup.

”This is a squad that takes the sport really seriously, and given the history of the Springboks, the fans expect us to win.

”In the last couple of years, we have only lost six matches out of 24. Now we must learn to win the big matches away and we have the possibility against France on Saturday.”

White, who has threatened to resign over the ever-present problem over quotas of black and white players in the rugby team, said he is not too disappointed that the Springboks did not retain the Tri-Nations trophy this year.

”Every sportsperson says that the second year is more difficult than the first, because the others know what to expect, but I believe that this team has continued to progress.

”For instance, beating New Zealand for the first time at Newlands since 1975, and beating France at home in a series for the first time since 1976 [they drew the first Test and won the second].

”We have won four Tests in a row against the big sides [three over Australia and one against the All Blacks, becoming the only side to beat the Kiwis this year] and we only just lost the Tri-Nations in the last four minutes of the second game against the All Blacks.”

White said the threat of Saturday’s match being played under snow does not worry him.

”In Argentina we played at altitude, thus we have already prepared for such an eventuality!” he joked. ”Seriously, though, it will be the same for France.

”They also don’t often play under the snow. It is difficult to know what to do in such a situation as we don’t encounter it normally.

”I will not change the tactics because this team can play it wide and also keep it close, but it is possible that the changes will be put in place earlier than predicted.” — Sapa-AFP