Jake rules himself out

Santa Claus

From the BBC's website :

Former South Africa coach Jake White has appeared to rule himself out of the running to succeed Eddie O'Sullivan as Ireland coach.

White's agent Craig Livingstone was reported in a Dublin newspaper as saying "Ireland would definitely not be a consideration for Jake".

"I would be very surprised if it was an option for him," he added. "We haven't been approached by anyone in Ireland.

"He said that the only job he would be interested in is the England post."


I've made no secret of the fact that the England job has always appealed to me

Jake White
O'Sullivan resigned on Wednesday in the aftermath of Ireland's worst-ever Six Nations campaign, bringing to and end his six-and-a-half years in the role of head coach.

Munster coach Declan Kidney, former Wales coach Mike Ruddock, ex-Leicester coach Pat Howard, now the Australian Rugby Union's high-performance manager, and London Irish coach Brian Smith have all been linked with the job of replacing O'Sullivan.

White, meanwhile, has been linked with a role in the England set-up ever since Livingstone revealed he had been in touch with Rugby football union elite rugby director Rob Andrew last November.

The RFU opted to maintain the coaching structure that took them to last year's World Cup final for the Six Nations, but Andrew is reviewing it again after a mixed campaign, despite England posting their best finish since 2003.

White has made no bones about his interest in a role with England.

"I've made no secret of the fact that the job has always appealed to me," said White, who led the Springboks to World Cup success last autumn.

"But England have their own review process under way and must decide what's right for them."

zAbbo

already posted in the Ireland Manager poll thread.

White's right of course, but the rumours are that the coaching ticket has already been signed and sealed, with news coming out over the next 3 days.

Stev_o

Lets hope this isnt true

Howard knocks back Ireland job

OUTGOING ARU high performance manager Pat Howard has turned down an approach to take over from the deposed Eddie O'Sullivan as coach of Ireland.

Despite being endorsed by Irish players, Howard said he was not interested in the job.

Howard's official duties with the ARU end on March 31 after he recently resigned to move back to Brisbane with his family, but the former Wallabies five-eighth and Leicester coach said he was not contemplating a sudden return to the northern hemisphere.

"I'm very flattered but I am out of the coaching caper - at least in the short term," Howard said.

"It has been mostly paper talk but there has been some interest expressed from their end. But I am not going to pursue it."

Ireland are searching for a coach who can lift them out of the doldrums. They failed to qualify for the World Cup quarter-finals and only won two games from five in the recent Six Nations.

Howard is held in high esteem in the UK, having coached the powerful Leicester Tigers to a Premiership title and EDF Energy Cup win in 2007. Howard's father Jake is also fondly remembered in Ireland after coaching there.

But Howard, a qualified pharmacist who holds an MBA, last week announced he would join funds manager the Cromwell Group as chief operating officer.

Another Australian, Alan Gaffney - formerly of Saracens but recently signed on as Michael Cheika's assistant at Leinster - has been mentioned as a candidate for the Irish job, along with South African Jake White.

Eddie Jones, meanwhile, has been mentioned in UK press reports as a potential candidate to replace England coach Brian Ashton.



Mitchell to stay with Force

Bret Harris | March 22, 2008

WESTERN FORCE coach John Mitchell's management has quashed speculation that the former All Blacks mentor is in the running for the vacant Ireland coaching job.

The Irish Times newspaper has speculated on a number of possible replacements for the departed Eddie O'Sullivan, including Mitchell, outgoing ARU high performance manager Pat Howard, former Springboks coach Jake White and ex-Wallabies backs coach Alan Gaffney, although Munster coach Declan Kidney appears to be the favourite.

Mitchell's manager John Fordham said he had had no discussions with his client about the Ireland position. Fordham pointed out that Mitchell had extended his contract with the Force last year, which will see him in Perth until the end of 2011.

While Mitchell has a clause in his contract that allows him to accept an offer to be the Wallabies head coach, it does not extend to other countries.

"I saw in the Irish Times a speculative piece, which listed five or six people, who were presented as good choices as opposed to being contenders," Fordham said.

"John was in there, but I've never discussed it with him. John's position is that he is totally committed to the job he's doing now.

"That's why last year he extended and renegotiated a new contract to 2011."

NSW Waratahs have joined the race to sign another Fordham client, Force fullback Cameron Shepherd, but he is expected to stay in Perth or go to the Brumbies.

Fordham said Shepherd had accepted the ARU component of his new two-year contract and he would decide next week which team to play for.

"The Force are extremely anxious to retain Cameron, but there is interest from other provinces," Fordham said.

"There's no doubt it is in Cameron's interests not to let it linger."

Force outside back Ryan Cross is expecting to receive an offer from the ARU within the next week for a top-up to his contract.

It is understood Cross's stocks have risen following the news that fellow rugby league convert Timana Tahu has succumbed to the hamstring problems that dogged his career in the 13-a-side code.

NSW second-rower Will Caldwell is considering playing overseas after the ARU decided against topping up his contract with the Waratahs.

The Waratahs are keen to keep Caldwell, especially in light of the impending departure of Test second-rower Dan Vickerman overseas and the premature retirement of Al Kanaar.

But if Caldwell stays in Australia, it may not necessarily be with the Waratahs as the Brumbies have also expressed interest in him.

The ARU will have more to spend on players if Wallabies blindside flanker Rocky Elsom decides to take a sabbatical overseas.

The Force, meanwhile, will step up efforts to re-sign promising young prop Pek Cowan, who is off-contract at the end of the year.

Cowan made a huge impact with his aggression and commitment when he came off the bench during the Force's come-from-behind 27-17 win against the Blues in Albany last Saturday.

His outstanding performance earned him a starting spot at loose-head against the powerful Highlanders front row in Queenstown today.

The Highlanders will be expecting to out-muscle the Force up front and Cowan will need to display the same level of physicality that he did against the Blues.

Force halfback Chris O'Young is in doubt for the game with a shoulder injury and will be given until this morning to prove his fitness.

If O'Young is ruled out, flanker Matt Hodgson will come into the 22-man squad and the Force will go with a five/two split between forwards and backs on the reserves bench.

The Force is favoured to beat the winless Highlanders, but the southern men have been highly competitive in every game and are more than capable of springing an upset.

Diamondmaker

Stev_o wrote: »

Howard's official duties with the ARU end on March 31 after he recently resigned to move back to Brisbane with his family,

Too right !! Dublin or here

damnyanks

So no one wants the job?

Bring the London Irish lad in and you're bound to see potentials from the UK playing