Triumph for White's clarity of vision

Whatever else he does this year, Jake White has already established one first for a Springbok coach. On the morning of the first test match against Ireland, he was on the phone to all the major sponsors of the team - detailing the game-plan that he intended his team to play in his first match in charge.

It was something World Cup winning coach Rod Macqueen used to do with Australia, and it appears White will continue to follow the practice as long as he is in charge. The move is geared towards strengthening the Bok brand as well as his and the team's relationship with those who support them financially. It was a nice touch that was thoroughly appreciated by those sponsors that I spoke to at the post-match reception at Vodacom Park.

What makes White's move to embrace the sponsors particularly pleasing is the fact that he must have had something to say during those phone-calls. Apparently his plan made sense to those who listened to his words, and when they watched the game unfold on Saturday afternoon all the sponsors could see exactly how the White plan come together.

One shudders to think what understanding of the game those same sponsors would have had were some of White's predecessors still in charge. What sets White apart from most of the other Bok coaches since Kitch Christie, with Nick Mallett being the obvious exception, is that whether you agree with him or not, he does clearly have a plan. And it is a plan that he makes easy to understand to those who listen to him speak.

For most of last week I saw little chance of a Springbok victory. There were just too many injuries, too many disruptions and too many imponderables to make a Bok win a realistic proposition against a team that came to South Africa fielding the same combinations that finished their successful Triple Crown triumph a few months ago.

But all that changed on Friday afternoon after the pre-match press conference, which was also followed by a confidence inspiring off-the-record chat. At the press conference White came across as being calm, assured and relaxed. He was not afraid to face the difficult questions head on, and there was no attempt by him to cook up a ready excuse ahead of the game.

If the Boks lose to Ireland at home, acknowledged White, it would be something akin to a national disgrace. And yes, that the Boks had never lost to the Irish at home was important in that South Africa was a proud rugby nation with a fine tradition. His team did not want to be part of an unwanted entry in the history books.

Previous coaches would have answered those questions by giving answers which either gave them an out in the event of defeat, or which so completely confused the journalists, and hence the public, that you were never entirely sure what exactly had been said.

White, perhaps because of his school-teacher background, has an excellent way of communicating his plan, and it is small wonder that in their 31-17 win over Ireland this past weekend the Boks looked more composed and more coherent in what they set out to do than most of the national teams that have represented this country in the past few years.

White said it himself afterwards: "The match was won before kick-off. We won it with our preparation". Never has a truer word been spoken, seldom has there been a more accurate indictment of where the Boks have been going wrong previously. White is a shrewd coach, a shrewd tactician, and he gave me the impression in our chat on Friday afternoon that he had done his homework on Ireland so meticulously that he meant every word of his press conference statement that "we will be ready for whatever Ireland throw at us".

A week in Bloemfontein was enough to show me a few things. Firstly, White is not treating his players like schoolboys, or for that matter like troopies. He laughs when it is mentioned it to him that the previous regime confiscated the cell-phones of the players, and has anyone noticed that neither Victor Matfield or Schalk Burger appear to have cut their hair after all.

Word from within the camp is that White is proving an astute man manager, and the confidence he has in his players (every time there is an injury he says there is enough depth in the country and he says it like he really means it) rubs off. Too many of his predecessors, in an effort to deflect the blame for defeat, were happy to publicly peddle the theory that the country lacked players.

White said at the pre-match press conference that he wanted his players to relax. Instead of having them tossing and turning on their beds and banging their heads against the wall to psyche themselves up, White has promoted a more relaxed atmosphere. His players were told to switch on when match day arrived, and on Saturday at least no-one can deny that that is exactly what they did.

Of course, there are stiffer obstacles lying in front of him. Ireland, perhaps duped by the South African media into thinking they were up against 15 potatoes in Bloemfontein, now know the depth of the talent available to the Boks, as well as the intent of the new young era of exciting players that is coming through.

But White has made a resounding start and has something to build on. A win over Ireland at this stage, particularly one as emphatic as the Vodacom Park one was, is an important victory for South African rugby. We should not get too carried away at this stage, and history has shown us how quickly the mood can turn against a national coach and how easily triumphs like Saturday's can get forgotten, but at this early stage it does appear the administrators have done at least one thing right this year.

Lest it be forgotten though, White was not on the initial shortlist, and it was only when fortune conspired against the Sarfu president when he thought he had everything sown up perfectly in his favour just before Christmas (remember that four man shortlist) that White, who has come through the systems and boasts the coaching experience most other candidates lacked, was brought into the mix.

Saturday showed the Boks have talent in the playing ranks, they also at last have a coach with clarity of vision. Continued success may hinge though on whether the game in this country has people in the administration ranks capable of managing the game as astutely as White prepared his players for this first test.