Lucky Sithole
Somehow rugby fans have always whispered behind their hands that Jake White is a lucky coach.
“Jake was Lucky that France beat the All Blacks in the 2007 World Cup,” is just one of the examples of how Jake gets “accused” of being lucky.
The 2007 World Cup was indeed a remarkable tournament. France surprised New Zealand in the quarter-final, beating the All Blacks in a historic game, when they came from 13-0 behind to win by 20-18.
That meant that England played France – and everybody knows what the All Blacks did to England in the 1995 World Cup. (Michael Catt, a great rugby player, will always be remembered for the way Jonah Lomu ran straight over him to score a brilliant try.) Since then, the theory was, and still is, that England could not beat the All Blacks.
But in 2007, because France had won their match, they met England and England scored a tough victory (14-9).
Which is how the Springboks came to play England in the final and this is why Jake White is considered to be “lucky”.
As if he ever had a choice. Jake himself has always said to win a tournament you have to be prepared to play anybody, but this has not detracted from the perception that he has been lucky!
Tomorrow the Bulls play the Sharks at Loftus Versfeld. To be honest, that is probably the easiest match of the United Rugby Championship semi-finals. For a number of reasons, the Bulls are the favourites.
Two of the reasons are that Loftus is still a home ground with a massive fan advantage – and also that Curwin Bosch can be expected to make mistakes when it matters.
The Bulls must be the favourites. Does that mean that Jake is lucky or a brilliant manager. At the top levels of sport (or any level), you make your own luck.
To labour Gary Player’s cliché: “The harder I try, the luckier . . . ” You can fill in the rest.
Bulls vs Sharks. 1.45pm.
Leinster vs Glasgow Warriors, 4.15pm
Stormers vs Edinburgh 7pm.
Image source: @SARugbyMagazine
