RFU coy over White's pitch to be England coach

The Rugby Football Union on Friday refused to comment on reports they were holding talks with Jake White over becoming England's new coach after the South African insisted he could win England the World Cup.
White coached the Springboks to World Cup glory in 2007 and his name was mentioned for the England job when RFU chief executive Ian Ritchie said that a coach of "proven international experience" was required to succeed Stuart Lancaster, whose time in office came to an end on Wednesday after a dismal World Cup campaign.

White, 52, has twice been overlooked for the job by the RFU, when Martin Johnson took control in 2008 and when Lancaster was handed the reins in 2012.

He is currently coach of Montpellier and after the French club were thrashed 41-18 on Thursday in the European Challenge Cup by Harlequins -- whose Stoop ground is a stone's throw from the RFU's Twickenham headquarters -- reports appeared that officials would hold talks with White on Friday.

That led to the RFU telling AFP it would "not confirm or deny" the reports.

White was emphatic in his desire to take on the England job after Thursday's match -- but said it had to be on the basis of him being approached rather than entering into another interview process.

"I can win the World Cup for England. I would never be saying that I was keen on the job if I did not believe I could do it," said White. "I have not been approached by anyone, everything is just speculation.

"If you are the right man for the job there should be no process. If they believe you are the right guy, that gives coaches confidence."

- O'Shea backs Brown salvo -

Meanwhile Harlequins coach Conor O'Shea urged England to get all their World Cup frustrations out into the open after their group-stage departure saw them suffer the earliest exit from the tournament of any host nation.

Harlequins full-back Mike Brown said he no longer trusted some of his England colleagues after a series of stories, including reports that players lost large sums of money as a result of share tips from kit man Dave Tennison -- were leaked into the public arena.

"If you don't get the crap out onto the table you will never move on," said O'Shea. "Mike Brown was 100 percent right to say what he did. I wish a lot of people would say what they feel."

Australia's Eddie Jones and New Zealand's Wayne Smith, also touted as possible successors to Lancaster, have both ruled themselves out of contention.

Jones, who guided his native Australia to a 2003 final where they were beaten by England and oversaw Japan's impressive 2015 campaign that included a shock defeat of the Springboks, said he had no intention of quitting the Stormers after taking over as coach of the South African club this week.

And Smith, a member of the backroom staff that helped the All Blacks win this year's World Cup, said he planned to take a break from rugby next year.
Source: AFP