Jake White has been supported for a surprise return to international rugby by replacing Eddie Jones as Wallabies coach.
Jones quit last month as Wallabies coach after Australia’s exit from the World Cup in the group stage, having won just two times in nine Tests since taking over in January.
Australia is going into a golden era, with the British & Irish Lions touring Down Under in 2025, before the country hosts the next World Cup in 2027.
Former Wallabies flyhalf Stephen Larkham and current Leicester Tigers coach Dan McKellar have both been linked to the currently vacant Wallabies job.
According to Australian publication The Roar, former Ireland coach and New Zealand assistant Joe Schmidt is interested in the role.
However, White’s name has now popped up as a potential successor to Jones, with former Wallabies prop Ben Alexander saying that Rugby Australia should give serious consideration to bringing the current Bulls coach on board.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Alexander, who played Tests for the Wallabies between 2008 and 2018, said that White’s excellent CV, which includes a World Cup and Tri-Nations win with the Springboks, should put him at the top of the list of candidates for the job.
“If you look back to what we’ve got over the next four years and you look at his resume, he knows what the Australian rugby environment is like because he’s been in it recently,” Alexander told The Roar.
White previously coached in Australia with the Brumbies in 2012 and 2013, and during his short stint in Canberra, he took the team to a Super Rugby final as well becoming the first Australian provincial side to beat the B&I Lions in 40 years during the 2013 tour.
“He’s beaten the Lions with the Brumbs and we’ve got the Lions coming, so he knows how that operates, and he’s won the World Cup,” Alexander said.
“With that World Cup, people forget in 2003 the Springboks were a bit of a mess. He brought a lot of youngs guys through who were part of his U21 side he won the Junior World Cup with. Four years later, they win the World Cup.
“He did the same here. He came in when the Brumbies were on a low and turned us around and we’ve been rock solid ever since. Jake’s got a track record like Eddie where his name gets thrown into the hat every time. But just how Jake turned the Brumbies around so well in two years, the Wallabies is a bigger challenge, I think he’s up for it.”
Jake White should be the next Wallaby coach because he’s:
– won a World Cup
– beat the Lions (first Aussie provincial team to do it in 40 years)
– took the Brumbies from 2nd last to 2nd in 2 years.Not sure there’s another coach available with a resume like that.
— Ben Alexander (@benny_alexander) December 12, 2023
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