Jake White opens up on near-death experience

On Sunday, 8 January, two days after the Bulls had beaten Dragons RFC 29-14 at Rodney Parade in the United Rugby Championship, White was rushed into surgery for a two-hour operation to salvage his small intestine.

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The former Springboks coach was recently released from hospital, and hopes to be present when the Bulls host the Stormers at Loftus in a fortnight.

White has now opened up on his near-death experience, which he says opened his eyes and reignited his rugby fire.

“I see things completely differently now,” White said, less than one month removed from emergency surgery and a week in intensive care to save him from a blood clot that wrecked his small intestine.

“Rugby is fantastic and working in professional sport and coaching a in league like the URC is a privilege. I’m still driven to be competitive and I never want to be in a place where I’m doing this job for the sake of it. But, after this experience, I’m working with a completely different framework on how to motivate players, and how to get balance in life.

“Life experiences like these really make you grow as a coach. As much as the game, technology and coaching methods have changed considerably in recent years, an experience like this greatly helps you to coach better because the perspective it provides means you talk differently – from a place of life experience.”

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JAKE WHITE HAS BEEN HIGHLY SUCCESSFUL BULLS SINCE JOINING THE BULLS IN 2020

White makes it clear that, while he remains a red-blooded coach with a steely determination to drive the Bulls to the title, this sudden, close brush with death gave him crystal clarity on how to order his life, something he believes will greatly benefit the Pretoria-based team.

“Look, the doctor told me that the first question I asked as I came out of the theatre was, ‘Did the Stormers win?’ I went in while they were playing Glasgow, and the reason I wanted to know was because of the implications to our campaign and because of my competitive edge. I will never lose that.

“But it also made me think, if we were unbeaten and I had died that night on the operating table, would it have made a difference? Would it have made me feel any different, if we had not lost a game all season?

“Lying in intensive care with pipes down your throat gives you time to think clearly. It’s an experience that has taught me about balance, and how quickly things can change. Rugby isn’t the be-all and end-all, even if you’re as competitive as I am. And what that means is I’m going to be very different as a coach.

“I can now use real-life experience to talk about how quickly it can all be over. I’m going to coach with a focus on playing with a smile – and living it, not just saying it. I’m going to actively push that as part of my mantra now, and for the players to genuinely smile because it’s fun, it’s a joy and a privilege to be able to get to play.

“Now I’m looking forward to getting back and being the guy who really keeps loving rugby. It hasn’t always been like that. When you get burnt or scarred by the game, you feel very low at times. But this sort of thing makes you realise, in the bigger scheme, to keep the highs and lows in context. And to keep it real.

“I can’t wait to get back to work, to exude the excitement I want these guys to live by every weekend.”

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