'It's going to bite you in the rear': Jake White's message to current Springboks coaches

Former World Cup-winning Springbok coach Jake White has told current head coach Jacques Nienaber and Director of Rugby Rassie Erasmus “they will never win” if they listen to the public.

After announcing the 33-man World Cup squad that left out key figures flyhalf Handre Pollard and centre Lukhanyo Am, the head coach has been trying to calm the supporter base.

He had to shoot down conspiracy theories that suggested one of the selected squad members would fein an injury in order for Pollard to join the team during the tournament.

Former Springboks coach White told newspaper Rapport that teams that try to repeat with the same aging team often fail, but he gave Erasmus and his team the benefit of the doubt.

Erasmus’ plan has been 2023 all along so this time might be different according to White.

“In 1995, Australia brought their winning team from 1991. In 1991 the All Blacks selected their 1987 team. The lesson is not to cling to players too long,” White told Rapport.

“But Rassie says the 2019 victory was not planned, the 2023 World Cup was always the plan. So everything should be in place for them.

“This is an interesting team. If their instinct says ‘yes’, they should do it. If Jacques and Rassie start listening to the public, they will never win.”

The Blue Bulls coach did however have a blunt message for any team wanting to win the Rugby World Cup, listing they key ingredients required to take home the prized trophy.

“However, there are constants in rugby that never change,” White explained.

“To win, you need a goal kicker, a captain, a tighthead prop and a solid five that kills teams. If you don’t have that, it’s going to bite you in the rear.”

With Handre Pollard currently on the comeback from injury, the Springboks haven’t settled on another goal kicker.

Cheslin Kolbe, Faf de Klerk, Mannie Libbok, and Damian Willemse have all been used in the last 12 months without a clear cut first-string option emerging.

In terms of captaincy, inspirational captain Siya Kolisi has been named in the squad but is racing the clock to return from an ACL injury.

The Springboks will play two final warm-up fixtures, against Wales in Cardiff and against New Zealand at Twickenham where Nienaber has stated that he intends to keep the same.

“We will probably chop and change a little bit less in the next two games,” he said.

“We need to get combinations now. We haven’t given the team the luxury of building combinations and little micro-units within each other.”