Jake White and Bulls have parted ways by mutual agreement
White arrived in Loftus Versfeld in 2020 and made a quick impact securing back-to-back championships in Super Rugby Unlocked and the Carling Currie Cup in the same season.
During his reign the Bulls reached three URC Grand finals and made knockout appearances in both the Investec Champions Cup and the EPCR Challenge Cup. The Bulls lost the URC final to Leinster last month 32-7 at Croke Park. They knocked Leinster out twice at the semi-final stages of the URC in 2022 and 2024.
The 61-year-old believes that it is time for the team to "have a new voice".
'I have made the decision to move on" said White.
"With many years' coaching experience, I felt it would be difficult to get the squad to perform to the next level. Therefore, in the best interest of both myself and the Bulls I feel it's time for a new chapter. It's time for this group to have a new voice.
The Vodacom Bulls and Director of Rugby, Jake White, have mutually agreed to part ways at the end of June 2025 following a season review.
Since joining in 2022, White delivered back-to-back titles in Super Rugby Unlocked and the Carling Currie Cup, and led the Vodacom Bulls to… pic.twitter.com/jzUYWS2BXs — Official Blue Bulls (@BlueBullsRugby) July 4, 2025
'I have enjoyed my time in Pretoria. I met some wonderful friends. I believe that rugby is like life – you win some you lose some. You learn as you grow. You need to be strong and courageous and, most importantly, it isn't always fair.
'I would like to thank all the loyal supporters, the Bulls staff that worked tirelessly, and to the players for their hard work and dedication.
"I wish BBRU president Willem Strauss and the amateur game lots of success in the future. To the shareholders, I will always be grateful for all the support and financial backing they gave, far and beyond any other club. Thank you for the privilege.
"To the Board for their support and CEO, Edgar Rathbone, coaches and management, it was great to be part of this winning culture. To be part of Bulls rugby history has been an absolute honour. I wish Bulls rugby all the best. Hou die blou bo!'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Times
3 hours ago
- Irish Times
Steely-eyed Lions look determined to complete series whitewash against downtrodden Wallabies
Lions Tour, third Test: Australia v British & Irish Lions, Accor Stadium, Sydney, Saturday, 11am Irish time Well then, follow that? The winner takes it all but while the Lions undoubtedly took the spoils last week and the series, it could be argued that the sport, Australian rugby and even World Rugby, were also beneficiaries of that classic second Test. Last week's game had a bit of everything; skill, physicality, errors, discipline, indiscipline, tries galore and jeopardy until the last play of the game and even beyond. Although the Wallabies will desperately want what they will see as some sort of redemption and revenge, and the Lions are hunting a first unbeaten series since 1974 and a first 3-0 series win in Australia since 1904, realistically there is less on the line. It seems hard to imagine this series final scaling those heights again. Who is Ireland's greatest ever Lion? Listen | 26:49 What's more, Sydney has been hit with days of persistent and often heavy rain, which hasn't seemingly put a dampener on the spirits of the Red Army which has been invading the city after various detours between Melbourne and here. But it is forecast to strike again on match day. Both Andy Farrell and Joe Schmidt faced contrasting but difficult challenges this week, the former trying to refocus a team which has secured a series win and celebrated accordingly, and Schmidt endeavouring to revive a group of players whom he described as seriously deflated, likening the fallout from last week's defeat to a grieving process. READ MORE Lions head coach Andy Farrell during Friday's captain's run. Photograph:At face value, Schmidt's challenge looks more difficult. Farrell had planned to give his squad a two-day respite regardless of last week's result and says that has rejuvenated them. A week ago, the Wallabies were on a vengeful, do-or-die mission to keep their hopes of a series win alive and were perfectly primed with a trimmed down, classically Schmidt-devised game plan, operating off slicker lineout launch plays and then runners off Jake Gordon, who mixed his game with a Conor Murray-like display of box-kicking while also taking his try well. The fit-again duo of Rob Valetini and Will Skelton injected real force into their carrying game and combined with Schmidt-esque efficiency at the breakdown, they then cut loose when the Lions were reduced to 14 men for 10 minutes. Calm and composed, the Lions stayed in the hunt through their ruthlessness in the Wallabies 22, upped their physicality in defence, discipline and breakdown work, their bench was excellent and they recorded two 14-phase tries to complete a brilliant and deserved comeback. So, on the presumption that the Wallabies will seek to play similarly, what has changed and how might things pan out differently? Well, for starters, Gordon has been surprisingly omitted to accommodate Nic White in what will be a farewell Wallabies appearance for the spiky 35-year-old. [ Andy Farrell praises Josh van der Flier as he names nine Irish starters for third Test Opens in new window ] [ Wallabies are finding it hard to move on as Lions look to make history Opens in new window ] This, Schmidt explained, is designed to incorporate White's kicking game for the rainy night but also in the belief that the players would want to send the veteran off into the sunset with a win. 'I know it's part of the motivation. It is. He's so well respected in the group,' said Schmidt of White. 'He's been at the top of the game for a dozen years. So, when you make that contribution over 12 years, as I said, it's not sentimentality, but it is a reality when someone is important to the group, that the group want to support them.' After deciding to retire last week, White said he had been considering asking Schmidt if he could run water at Accor Stadium so he'd finish in his boots. 'I didn't see it coming,' admitted White, 'but really appreciate it. And yeah, I won't let the boys down.' Who knows, it may well prove inspired. Tate McDermott has been retained as backup as his running game from the base is well suited to changing the game up in the final 20 or 30 minutes. Australia's Nic White. Photograph: Tom Maher/Inpho That is also more likely to come into play given Schmidt has returned to a conventional 5-3 split on the bench. Instead of changing up the game at scrumhalf, McDermott had to play an hour on the wing, where he was targeted by the Lions. It may even have contributed to Ben Donaldson not being brought on, even though Tom Lynagh's impact became increasingly negligible. However, the Wallabies have not only lost Valetini's explosive carrying again, but they've been hit up front by the loss of tighthead Allan Alaalatoa, as well as both of last week's hookers after Dave Porecki was forced out due to a gash on his Achilles picked up in training. However, this has meant call-ups for the dynamic duo of Tamiela Tupou at tighthead and Brandon Paenga-Amosa as backup hooker to the promoted Billy Pollard, and plenty of pundits and Wallabies supporters believe both should have been in the squad anyway. What's more, it will be Paenga-Amosa's fourth appearance against the Lions, having done so for Western Force, the AUNZ Invitational XV and the First Nations Pasifika XV. This could provide the kind of fresh energy the Wallabies need, but it could also be disruptive and they've been unlucky to ultimately only have Valetini for one of six halves. [ Barry Sheehan: 'The Lions' win and years of love, encouragement, pushing and dragging have led to a warmth that radiates from the inside out' Opens in new window ] Farrell firmly believes this Lions team has not played to the maximum of its ability to date, but admitted: 'I don't think you ever do.' He added: 'We can say if we put the first half of the first Test and the second half of the second Test together, would you get a perfect performance? It never really happens like that. 'The simple reason is that at this type of level, two good quality sides are always going to cancel each other out somewhere along the line within the process of 80 minutes of rugby. I suppose that is going to be the same again on Saturday.' Farrell also proved he is no sentimentalist in promoting James Ryan and Blair Kinghorn while restoring Ben Earl to the matchday 23. This means only 27 players have been used in the series to date, 11 of whom will have started all three Tests. An opportunity may arise, however, due to an injury doubt over winger Tommy Freeman. Mack Hansen would be an option if fully fit but he has missed the first two Tests with a foot injury and was deemed '85 per cent' fit earlier in the week. Owen Farrell may move to centre with Huw Jones going to the wing, while James Lowe and Jamie Osborne are also options. Nevertheless, Farrell's selection looks like a statement of intent and perhaps demonstrates a steely-eyed determination to complete the series whitewash which Farrell had targeted from the outset. After last week's scare, it looks even more achievable as the week has progressed too. Perhaps history calls them. AUSTRALIA: Tom Wright (Brumbies); Max Jorgensen (Force), Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii (Waratahs), Len Ikitau (Brumbies), Dylan Pietsch (Waratahs); Tom Lynagh (Reds), Nic White (Force); James Slipper (Brumbies), Billy Pollard (Brumbies), Taniela Tupou (Waratahs); Nick Frost (Brumbies), Will Skelton (La Rochelle); Tom Hooper (Brumbies), Fraser McReight (Reds), Harry Wilson (capt, Reds). Replacements: Brandon Paenga-Amosa (Force), Angus Bell (Waratahs), Zane Nonggorr (Reds), Jeremy Williams (Force), Langi Gleeson (Waratahs), Tate McDermott (Reds), Ben Donaldson (Force), Andrew Kellaway (Waratahs). BRITISH & IRISH LIONS: Hugo Keenan (Leinster/Ireland); Tommy Freeman (Northampton Saints/England), Huw Jones (Glasgow Warriors/Scotland), Bundee Aki (Connacht/Ireland), Blair Kinghorn (Toulouse/Scotland); Finn Russell (Bath/Scotland), Jamison Gibson-Park (Leinster/Ireland); Andrew Porter (Leinster/Ireland), Dan Sheehan (Leinster/Ireland), Tadhg Furlong (Leinster/Ireland); Maro Itoje (capt, Saracens/England), James Ryan (Leinster/Ireland); Tadhg Beirne (Munster/Ireland), Tom Curry (Sale Sharks/England), Jack Conan (Leinster/Ireland). Replacements: Rónan Kelleher (Leinster/Ireland), Ellis Genge (Bristol Bears/England), Will Stuart (Bath/England), Ollie Chessum (Leicester Tigers/England), Jac Morgan (Ospreys/Wales), Ben Earl (Saracens/England), Alex Mitchell (Northampton Saints/England), Owen Farrell (Saracens/England). Referee: Nika Amashukeli (GRU). Assistant Referees: Ben O'Keeffe (NZR), Andrea Piardi (FIR). TMO: Marius Jonker (SARU). FPRO: Richard Kelly (NZR). Overall head-to-head: Played 25, Australia 6 wins, Lions 19 wins. Last seven meetings: 2001: Australia 13 Lions 29; Australia 35 Lions 14; Australia 29 Lions 23 2013: Australia 21 Lions 23; Australia 16 Lions 15; Australia 16 Lions 41 2025: Australia 19 Lions 24. Australia 26 Lions 29 Forecast: Lions to win.
Irish Times
4 hours ago
- Irish Times
Conor Murray: If Jac Morgan's clear out was foul play, then rugby, as we know it, no longer exists
'After the second Test, whether we win, lose or draw, we go on the beer.' That was the blueprint on the Lions tours in 2013, 2017 and 2021. All three series' were tied at 1-1 after the second Test. In 2013, we went to Noosa, and spent three days on the piss. In New Zealand, we had a 'recuperation camp' in Queenstown. Four years ago, we rocked up to a vineyard before losing the decider in Cape Town. A release valve is necessary at the end of a 13-month season. Ever since Hugo Keenan's goose-step settled the series in Melbourne last Saturday, I know the lads have enjoyed themselves. READ MORE It is possible for 40-odd players to celebrate into Monday morning, while staying out of trouble, as they made their way from Melbourne to Sydney, and still perform in the third Test. I have a fair idea how Andy Farrell motivated them this week – they are chasing history now. The last Lions group to go unbeaten on tour were Willie John McBride's 'Invincibles'. The 1974 Lions were only denied a 4-0 whitewash of the Springboks because the referee blew up on 76 minutes for a draw. It looks like the loss to Argentina in Dublin, before the current Lions set sail, did enormous work in terms of motivation. Gary Keegan also helped immeasurably. I cannot overemphasise Gary's value to Irish sport going back over 20 years when he worked with Irish boxers at the Olympics. High-performance coach Gary Keegan. Photograph: Billy Stickland/Inpho Call it sports psychology, but Gary does not have a rule book. Some 'performance coaches' I've encountered are preaching straight from a university manual. Others bring a wealth of life experience to elite sporting environments. Gary is in the second category. Caroline Currid deserves to be mentioned in the same conversation. Gary and Caroline have different approaches, but successive Limerick hurling captains have mentioned Currid's contribution from the steps of the Hogan Stand. In Munster, we could not understand why the higher-ups parted company with Caroline after she played such a significant role in our 2023 URC success. Point being, the players are at their physical peak, well able to guzzle a belly-full of schooners before Aled Walters, the Lions and Ireland fitness guru, fine-tunes them for the third Test. The idea of picking players on sentiment would not have crossed Farrell's mind, which is harsh on those who have performed so well on this tour – Josh van der Flier springs to mind. Tom Curry and Jac Morgan would not be willing to hand over a Lions jersey simply because the series was settled at the MCG. Farrell will pick his best team for this game. The players celebrated but – to a man – they would see the importance of reaching their full potential Down Under. And that means a 3-0 whitewash. On the other side, as recently as Thursday, the Aussie media and Joe Schmidt were still complaining about Morgan's clear out of Carlo Tizzano, leading up to Keenan's try. [ Owen Doyle: Why Jac Morgan's clear out of Carlo Tizzano was not obvious foul play Opens in new window ] Carlo Tizzano of the Wallabies receives medical attention following a contest in the final moments. Photograph: Morgan Hancock/Getty Tizzano's injury rules him out this week, and that is genuinely unfortunate, but if the match officials decided that Morgan's removal of Tizzano was foul play, then rugby union, as we know it, no longer exists. We may as well abolish rucks and join the NFL, with big Line Men going toe-to-toe from upright stances. Watch any game, at any level, and you will find replicas of how Morgan removed Tizzano from the Lions ball. Even World Rugby, through CEO Alan Gilpin, has spoken: it's play on, all day long. Rugby is a violent sport. Player safety is increasingly prioritised, after decades of it being an afterthought, but from grassroots to the pros, dominance at the breakdown is what differentiates union from American Football and Rugby League. I was surprised by the amount of ex-Wallabies queuing up to cry foul. Even the great openside flanker Michael Hooper leant towards Morgan 'going off his feet'. We could find dozens of examples of Hooper doing exactly what Morgan did to shunt Richie McCaw or Malcolm Marx off Aussie ball. The breakdown is a dangerous place. Reffing it will never be an exact science. Morgan had a split second to remove Tizzano – 'the jackler' – before he locked on to the ball. It was legal. The alternative was to penalise Morgan and the Wallabies would have forced a deciding third Test in Sydney. But we either prioritise sport or entertainment. Sure, the series deserved a grand finale following Australia's forensic dissection of the Lions defence, but Farrell's team earned the series win. It was exactly what we expected a Joe Schmidt-coached team to do. In the first Test. Turns out they needed tune-ups against Fiji and the Lions after not playing together for seven months. Jake Gordon of the Wallabies celebrates scoring a try with Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii. Photograph: Cameron Spencer/Getty They finally got their Rugby League star Joseph Suaalii in space and he ripped up the Lions midfield to create Tom Wright's sensational try. At 23-5, and a half-hour played, it looked like we had ourselves a classic. But the Aussies were visibly spent. Tom Curry and Huw Jones tries before half-time reminded everyone that the Lions are, by some distance, the better team. Curry's 55th-minute hit on Suaalii, from behind to loosen the ball, felt like the decisive moment on tour. That 'forced error' led directly to a 14-point momentum swing as Tadhg Beirne crashed over in the corner four minutes after Suaalii's knock-on. The third test is a dead rubber, but nobody inside the camps will feel this way. The two coaches who have had the biggest influence on my career use distinctly different methods. If Schmidt treats his players like PhD students cramming to complete their final dissertation, Farrell sees grown men with the mentality of elite athletes. Joe provides positional instructions that are down to specific blades of grass, whereas Faz empowers the individual to think for themselves. Neither way is wrong. They dovetailed so effectively as Ireland coaches, cherry-picking from each other's philosophy. Farrell will have targeted 3-0 as much as Joe will be doing everything in his power to avoid a whitewash. The result will colour the series.
Irish Times
6 hours ago
- Irish Times
Jamison Gibson-Park's numbers don't lie – Ireland is a scrumhalf country
Amid the drama of Hugo Keenan's match-winning try in Melbourne – don't mention Jac Morgan – the role of the halfbacks in a lengthy final attack can easily be forgotten. Jamison Gibson-Park's decision to pass to Keenan instead of his outhalf Finn Russell , loitering on the other side of the ruck, was instrumental to finding a one-on-one close to the line. Earlier in the phase play, Russell's call to hold on to the ball, instead of throwing an audacious pass to an outnumbered Jack Conan , ensured the Lions did not become isolated and vulnerable to a turnover. In that final attack, Gibson-Park touched the ball 13 times, while Russell had nine attacking contributions. Such interplay between nine and 10 in the build-up to scores was unusual for the Lions . In the build-up to Tom Curry's first-half score, Gibson-Park's four touches doubled Russell's two. The numbers are the same for Huw Jones's try minutes later. When Tadhg Beirne crossed after half-time, the preceding phases saw eight contributions from Gibson-Park and just three from Russell. READ MORE Such volume is probably why Ronan O'Gara , speaking on Sky's Lions commentary, labelled the scrumhalf Andy Farrell's 'go-to man'. 'Obviously not with an Irish 10 being the dominant figure in the touring party, Gibson-Park will play that role,' explained the La Rochelle boss. To an extent, O'Gara is right. In Farrell's attacking system of intricate pods and multiple passing lanes, an Irish scrumhalf is more likely to have a better grasp of things than a Scottish 10. Yet even when Gibson-Park plays for Ireland and has a compatriot joining him in the playmaking brains trust, he is the dominant figure. As a rugby community, Ireland loves to focus on the 10. A culture war has broken out between supporters of Jack Crowley and Sam Prendergast . The health of Johnny Sexton was the main source of public anxiety for the bones of a decade, O'Gara himself before that. Forget the cultural hold of the outhalf. It's based on vibes alone. Unquantifiable evidence. According to the pure numbers, we are a scrumhalf country. It's not even close. ◊♦◊♦◊♦◊♦◊♦◊♦◊♦◊♦◊♦◊♦ There' a lot of talk in Ireland about the relative merits of Sam Prendergast and Jack Crowley, but not as much about the significance of the scrumhalf role. Photograph: Billy Stickland/Inpho While some scrumhalves add defensive value, their main job is with ball in hand. One of the best ways of measuring the offensive influence of an individual is to look at attacking involvements; carries plus kicks plus passes. How often do they contribute when the team is on the ball? In the first Lions Test, Gibson-Park had 81 attacking involvements (AIs). Russell had 32. In the second, the tally was 77-33 in favour of the scrumhalf. This more or less tallies with longer trends. Across Test matches for both Ireland and the Lions in 2025, Gibson-Park averages 78 involvements when starting, compared with the outhalf figure of 36.7 in those same games. Interestingly, in 2024, Gibson-Park's average was up. He recorded 92 AIs per international that calendar year, compared with his outhalf's 40.9. In 2023, Gibson-Park's influence was down to 71, while the outhalf's rose to 42.6. What, if anything, can be taken from these trends? For one, a certain domineering presence was in the Irish outhalf jersey in 2023. In his last ever game, Sexton demanded the ball against New Zealand, recording 78 AIs. That Gibson-Park was only marginally ahead of him on 85 is staggering. In 2024, the first year of the post-Sexton era, Ireland operated with a pair of inexperienced outhalves. First Crowley had a crack during the Six Nations before Prendergast took over in November. With two young bucks outside him, of course Gibson-Park was going to take on more of the attacking burden. So far in 2025, with Prendergast and Crowley marginally more experienced, combined with two Tests alongside a veteran Russell, Gibson-Park's AI figure has stabilised. A happy medium between being beholden to Sexton and babysitting Crowley and Prendergast. As always, contextual wrinkles complicate such straightforward narratives. For one, Ireland have started to play with less of the ball . Less possession means fewer involvements for your scrumhalf. [ How Ireland's new attacking plan has fuelled their perfect Six Nations start Opens in new window ] This shift has ensured Ireland kick more, which has also changed Gibson-Park's role. Since Sexton's retirement, when paired with Crowley, Gibson-Park has averaged 7.6 kicks per match to his outhalf's 6.4. When Prendergast is in the 10 shirt, he averages 11.2 kicks per match compared with Gibson-Park's 6.6. The scrumhalf continues to bear the passing burden, but Prendergast's right boot has seen much more action. Yet even in the Sexton era, Gibson-Park was influential. While the former Ireland captain raged against the dying of the light in that New Zealand defeat, numbers from earlier in the tournament suggest this game was an anomaly. In critical pool matches against Scotland and South Africa respectively, Gibson-Park had 49 and 63 AIs to Sexton's 22 in both outings. More than double, and in one case almost triple the output of the player many considered Ireland's talisman. Just one of Jamison Gibson-Park's many attacking involvements over the years. Photograph: Ben Brady/Inpho In a way, such attacking dominance from the scrumhalf is to be expected. Unless sucked in by desperation, the nine passes from every single ruck. The 10 isn't involved when forwards come rumbling around the corner. When a team has forward dominance, as the Lions did against Australia and Ireland tend to have against Six Nations opponents not named England or France, you don't need to go to the backline. Just keep on boosting those scrumhalf involvements by passing to forward after forward. Yet the data also suggests this gap is intentional. In this year's Six Nations, Gibson-Park was Ireland's most valuable player according to expected points added (rugby's equivalent of individual xG). In fact, he was the best player in the whole tournament by that metric. Which suggests, yes, his attacking quantity is high, but so is his quality. 8. Ben Earl 🏴 42.88 9. Jamison Gibson-Park 🍀 66.98 10. Fin Smith 🏴 35.81 11. Louis Bielle-Biarrey 🇫🇷 51.18 12. Yoram Moefana 🇫🇷 39.67 13. Huw Jones 🏴 39.11 14. Damian Penaud 🇫🇷 22.43 15. Blair Kinghorn 🏴 37.53 — Simon Chi (@Vanguard403) Such is the value added by Gibson-Park's contributions – passing in the main – that they greatly add to Ireland's expected output on the scoreboard. The eye-test suggests he is Ireland's – and the Lions' – best decision-maker. That coaches' game plan for him to be so heavily involved suggests they agree. Perhaps the biggest test of this theory will come when Gibson-Park finishes. Will Craig Casey operate in a similar manner? In his last three international starts, the Munster nine has had 65, 73 and 94 involvements. This compares with the relevant outhalf figure of 55, 37 and 52. Casey is still the main man, but not to the same extent as Gibson-Park. The fact these were games against Portugal, Georgia and Fiji makes it difficult to draw conclusions. One day, we will see whether Casey is as dominant and, more importantly, as effective as Gibson-Park. For now, Farrell can rest easy in the knowledge his best playmaker continues to offer attacking quantity and quality. For as long as this coach has Gibson-Park at his disposal, Ireland will remain a scrumhalf-dominated nation.
