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Jake White's Departure From Montpellier Is As Eyebrow-Raising As His Arrival

Jake White while at Montpellier /Getty Images

Getting rid of the World Cup-winning coach who led them to the European Challenge Cup in his first full season in charge could be the best thing that’s ever happened to Montpellier, writes James Harrington.

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The big news out of the Top 14 last week was not that Toulon owner Mourad Boudjellal was considering selling the club after a decade in charge.

Boudjellal wears his heart on his sleeve, and, for all that he’s portrayed as the moustache-twirling Victorian baddie of the Top 14, his is a big heart that beats in rouge-et-noir for his beloved club.

He may well sell-up – talks with a fellow local business consortium are said to be at an advanced stage – but, make no mistake, this is not the great parting of the ways some would like to believe it will be.

No, the big news came from further west along the Mediterranean coast, where it was revealed that World Cup-winning coach Jake White’s tenure at Montpellier is coming to an end as eyebrow-raising as its beginning.

White will depart at the end of the season, no matter what happens, to be replaced by former Clermont coach Vern Cotter.

He arrived in January 2015, as a consultant, after Fabien Galthié was ‘suspended’ following a string of eight defeats in nine games. Rumour has it that the former France scrum-half had decided to take a South American holiday rather than work to turn around the club’s fortunes.

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White formally took over as head coach at the end of the 2014/15 season, with Galthié sent out on gardening leave. (He’s still there, such is the painfully slow nature of French employment bureaucracy. He pops up now and then as a TV pundit, but is unable to take a coaching job at another club).

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It didn’t take long for White to make his presence felt. A bunch of French players were sent packing and replaced by a bunch of South Africans – JIFF rules be damned.

The playing-style changed, too. Under Galthié, Montpellier were passionate and volatile and brilliant and frustrating and … French. They played sexy rugby. When they were good (and they could be), they were very, very good. When they were bad (and they could be) they were diabolical. But they had style – and the Montpellierans, soccer fans to their very core, loved them for it.

Jake White doesn’t do sexy rugby. He does winning rugby. He replaced French umami with the South African beef he knows how to work with. It’s quality stuff, there’s no doubt, but has left a bad taste in French rugby fans’ mouths.

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In the season-and-a-few-weeks he has been in charge, Montpellier have won the European Challenge Cup, and reached the end-of-season Top 14 play-offs to qualify for the Champions Cup this season.

But White’s winning rugby is a turn-off – proof that success does not always draw crowds. At the start of the 2014/15 season, Galthié’s last few weeks in charge, the average attendance at what was then called Stade Yves du Manoir but is now known as the Altrad Stadium, was well over 13,000. This season, the club is lucky to draw 10,000 fans to home games.

Club President Mohed Altrad could probably live with the local downturn in support for a while. Unlike Boudjellal, he has publicly admitted that he’s not in club ownership for the love of rugby.

He could probably cope with the fact that his head coach could not summon up the effort to learn more than a token amount of the language.

He may even have been able to handle the near-criminal handling of old faithful François Trinh-Duc’s departure. After more than a decade of service, the fly-half was dropped for the club’s final home game of last season and denied the chance to say one final goodbye to the fans.

You could argue, as White did, that there is no place for sentiment in modern rugby. But it was a cruel and bitter end to the player’s 13-year Montpellier career – and French rugby fans are a sentimental bunch. Just 10 minutes would have been enough, Jake. Would it have been so hard?

What Altrad could not live with was the revelation that White had none-too-quietly sounded out the English RFU about taking over the England hotseat. That was a personal betrayal.

The story is that White wanted to extend his stay, but Altrad decided enough was enough. He is rumoured to have offered former Toulon coach and FFR presidential hopeful Bernard Laporte an eye-watering amount of money to take over, but has in the end offered Cotter the job.

Cotter knows French rugby. He will bring the excitement back to Montpellier. It will have a steelier heart than it did under Galthié, of that there is no doubt, but it will be – when the rugby gods look down kindly on Montpellier – breathtaking stuff. It’s probably the best rugby decision Altrad has ever made.

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Oh no, not him again? 2 hours ago
England internationals disagree on final play execution vs All Blacks

Okay, so we blew it big time on Saturday. So rather than repeating what most people have all ready said, what do I want to see from Borthwick going forward?


Let's keep Marcus Smith on the pitch if he's fit and playing well. I was really pleased with his goal kicking. It used to be his weakness. I feel sympathy for George Ford who hadn't kicked all match and then had a kick to win the game. You hear pundits and commentators commend kickers who have come off the bench and pulled that off. Its not easy. If Steve B continues to substitute players with no clear reason then he is going to get criticised.


On paper I thought England would beat NZ if they played to their potential and didn't show NZ too much respect. Okay, the off the ball tackles certainly stopped England scoring tries, but I would have liked to see more smashing over gainlines and less kicking for position. Yes, I also know it's the Springbok endorsed world cup double winning formula but the Kiwi defence isn't the Bok defence, is it. If you have the power to put Smith on the front foot then why muzzle him? I guess what I'm saying is back, yourself. Why give the momentum to a team like NZ? Why feed the beast? Don't give the ball to NZ. Well d'uh.


Our scrum is a long term weakness. If you are going to play Itoje then he needs an ogre next door and a decent front row. Where is our third world class lock? Where are are realible front row bench replacements? The England scrum has been flakey for a while now. It blows hot and cold. Our front five bench is not world class.


On the positive side I love our starting backrow right now. I'd like to see them stick together through to the next world cup.


Anyway, there is always another Saturday.

7 Go to comments
C
CO 3 hours ago
Scott Robertson responds to criticism over All Blacks' handling errors

Robertson is more a manager of coaches than a coach so it comes down to intent of outcomes at a high level. I like his intent, I like the fact his Allblacks are really driving the outcomes however as he's pointed out the high error rates are not test level and their control of the game is driving both wins and losses. England didn't have to play a lot of rugby, they made far fewer mistakes and were extremely unlucky not to win.


In fact the English team were very early in their season and should've been comfortably beaten by an Allblacks team that had played multiple tests together.


Razor has himself recognised that to be the best they'll have to sort out the crisis levels of mistakes that have really increased since the first two tests against England.


Early tackles were a classic example of hyper enthusiasm to not give an inch, that passion that Razor has achieved is going to be formidable once the unforced errors are eliminated.


That's his secret, he's already rebuilt the passion and that's the most important aspect, its inevitable that he'll now eradicate the unforced errors. When that happens a fellow tier one nation is going to get thrashed. I don't think it will be until 2025 though.


The Allblacks will lose both tests against Ireland and France if they play high error rates rugby like they did against England.


To get the unforced errors under control he's going to be needing to handover the number eight role to Sititi and reset expectations of what loose forwards do. Establish a clear distinction with a large, swarthy lineout jumper at six that is a feared runner and dominant tackler and a turnover specialist at seven that is abrasive in contact. He'll then need to build depth behind the three starters and ruthlessly select for that group to be peaking in 2027 in hit Australian conditions on firm, dry grounds.


It's going to help him that Savea is shifting to the worst super rugby franchise where he's going to struggle behind a beaten pack every week.


The under performing loose forward trio is the key driver of the high error rates and unacceptable turn overs due to awol link work. Sititi is looking like he's superman compared to his openside and eight.


At this late stage in the season they shouldn't be operating with just the one outstanding loose forward out of four selected for the English test. That's an abject failure but I think Robertson's sacrificing link quality on purpose to build passion amongst the junior Allblacks as they see the reverential treatment the old warhorses are receiving for their long term hard graft.


It's unfortunately losing test matches and making what should be comfortable wins into nail biters but it's early in the world cup cycle so perhaps it's a sacrifice worth making.


However if this was F1 then Sam Cane would be Riccardo and Ardie would be heading into Perez territory so the loose forwards desperately need revitalisation through a rebuild over the next season to complement the formidable tight five.

28 Go to comments
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