2012 preseason begins today
White begins work to turn things around for Brumbies
Jake White hopes a new off-season training camp program and the burning pain from last season will accelerate his plan to resurrect the ACT Brumbies.
White, who arrived in Australia on Tuesday, will begin his tenure as the Brumbies' new head coach when he moves into his Griffith office today.
But the World Cup-winning mentor has already started mapping out his vision for turning the club around after its worst campaign in its Super Rugby history.
To show he means business, he has organised four camps for his non-Wallaby players to be held over the next two months, the first at Narrabeen from July 25-28.
And with the bulk of the Brumbies squad now based in Sydney for club rugby, White, his assistants Stephen Larkham and Laurie Fisher and consultant coach George Gregan, will regularly put the players through gruelling training sessions.
Those will begin today with Gregan putting Nic White, Matt Toomua, Robbie Coleman and Christian Lealiifano through their paces.
''I've been waiting for a while to get here and now that I'm here I want to make sure everything is in place,'' White said.
''I can't afford to take another couple of days off just to get in the right time zone.
''I'd rather get them in [a camp] where they can eat properly, sleep properly and train properly and I guess to get to know each other.
''There's obviously a conditioning side to it and there's a rugby side ... the conditioning isn't a generic program, we want it to be professional enough that every guy gets exactly what he needs now and for next year.''
White also hopes Queensland recruits Kimami Sitauti and Ian Prior will spend time with the team in Sydney to fast-track their transition into the squad.
With new coaches and a revamped playing roster, White wants as much time as possible to start rebuilding.
That's why the South African started working as soon as he landed in the country.
The Brumbies finished a disastrous campaign last month, winning just four of their 16 games and finishing 13th on the ladder. White doesn't want to dwell on the past and what went wrong on the field.
But he does want his players to remember how much the defeats hurt, especially the crushing loss to the NSW Waratahs in the last round.
''The only thing they [the players] need to remember about this year is what it felt like not to do well,'' White said.
''There's nothing else we want to take from this year other than how they felt after every game and ending the way they ended for a franchise like the Brumbies.''
White still has three vacant spots in his 30-man squad. The Brumbies are still searching for an experienced international lock to strengthen the pack and White said the team could ''not afford the luxury'' of promoting a rising junior in the position.
With two full-time back contracts still available and four training squad spots up for grabs, White will invite fringe players to his training camps to cast his eye over some hopefuls.
''But I'm not going to rush [finalising the squad],'' White said.
''If we don't have those players, we'll wait and fringe players will come into the camps and bash it out to see how they fit in.''
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White ushers in a new era
''I am the boss''.
With those four words, the Jake White era began at Brumbies HQ in Griffith yesterday.
The South African World Cup-winning coach is in Canberra ready to rebuild.
He's confident he's the right man to guide the Brumbies to the Super Rugby finals for the first time since 2004.
After a four-year professional coaching sabbatical, a refreshed White says it's the right time to be in charge again.
Thirteen players from last year's squad have departed and the challenge of lifting the Brumbies out of their hole will fall on the shoulders of an inexperienced group.
But that's exactly how White wants it. He wants a fresh start.
The return to coaching
White led the Springboks to a World Cup triumph in 2007 before he stepped away from full-time professional sport.
He was still involved with a university side in South Africa and was employed as a coaching consultant in South Africa, Europe and Japan.
He insists his approach to the job will not be stale despite spending so much time away from the game.
''The game always changes, but some things never change,'' he said.
''Being out of the game has refreshed me, it has made me want to part of a team again.
''It's a bit like being an athlete who has retired and always longs for one more chance that's where I am in my coaching life.
''It's been four years and the game is almost back to where it was four years ago. It's evolved, but this is a nice time for me to join because four years ago I knew what needed to be done in order to win.''
The new generation
Gone are Matt Giteau, Adam Ashley-Cooper, Mark Chisholm, Mitchell Chapman and nine other players with plenty of experience.
White admitted having so many high-profile players leaving Canberra was not ideal.
How does he plan on still building a successful team with so many veterans moving on?
Simple challenge the youngsters. White wants players like Matt Toomua, Christian Lealiifano and Pat McCabe who have been in the Super Rugby system for a number of years to prove they can lead the team around.
''There are some young, very talented boys coming through,'' White said.
''At the same time there are a lot of boys who are at the transition stage now where they have to take the next step up.
''Guys like Toomua, Lealiifano and McCabe, they're at the age where they need to go to another level. They've served their apprenticeships.''
The finals goal
White will ultimately be judged on his success at Super Rugby level and he's prepared for that.
''Coaches get hired and fired and at the end of the day you have to do what you do best,'' he said.
''I'm very fortunate, so far I've got everything that I needed and hopefully that will continue and we'll change the Brumbies around and get back to the winning ways.''
To return the Brumbies to the finals, White knows he needs star players.
He wants to turn his current squad into a group which will form the bulk of the Wallabies side in the future.
''I can't overstate the fact that I just don't want to produce Wallabies, I want to produce boys who can play 50 times for Australia. That's the secret. I don't want a one-Test wonder, I want a player who wants to come here, be professional, wants to represent Australia and plays 50, 60 or 70 times for Australia.''
The coaching style
Towards the end of Friend's time in charge, the senior players wanted him to have less input and give his assistant coaches a louder voice.
Make no mistake, White is the man in charge of the Brumbies' 2012 campaign.
He wants it known that the buck stops with him and he makes the decisions.
He said the key to success was finding the right balance between empowering the staff and players while still being the leader.
White, assistants Laurie Fisher and Stephen Larkham and consultant halves coach George Gregan will all run training sessions during the off-season. White's extensive experience in different rugby set-ups will help him to create a successful environment.
White's path to becoming Springboks head coach was long.
He was a physical education teacher, a technical advisor for the Springboks, fitness and conditioning guru with a Super Rugby club as well as an assistant with the national side.
He also coached the South African under-21s side to a junior world championship.
''I've always been a hands-on coach, but at the same time I like to empower people around me,'' White said.
''There's no point having assistants and people around if you don't offer them opportunities.
''I've been lucky in that I've done most of the jobs in a team set-up, I've been the water boy as well.
The new environment
Although White's coaching resume is impressive, he is yet to prove himself on the Super Rugby stage.
His challenge will be to pull his team of ''renegades'' together to be a force.
''When you're the national coach, you can recruit the best players from week-to-week. When you have injuries, you just go and find the same player at another franchise that's the biggest difference.
''I want to share my experiences and the things I've learned as well as developing a new string to my bow.
''There's a different set of parameters [in Australia] ... I'm keen to see what it's like to coach in a new world.''
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Brumbies wrestle with new ideas
Wrestling, rugby league, Australian football, swimming and cricket - new ACT Brumbies coach Jake White is leaving no stone unturned as he attempts to create the best environment in Super Rugby.
Despite being six months from the start of the season, White put his players through a tough wrestling workout at 6am yesterday under the tutelage of mixed martial arts expert Chris ''the hammer'' Haseman.
White is wasting no time trying to lay the foundations for rebuilding the club after its horror season this year.
To ensure he has all bases covered, White has already met with NRL mentors Craig Bellamy and Brian Smith, hopes to catch up with AFL guru Kevin Sheedy and will share ideas with swimming and cricket coaches in the coming weeks.
''The thing I'm enjoying about being in Australia is the cross pollination of all the sports,'' White said.
''I went to see Craig Bellamy and the Storm [on Tuesday] and just watched how they did things down there.
''You can get stimulated as a coach in terms of what rugby league or AFL does. There must be things in their game that they are leaders in and we can bring them to rugby union.''
While their Super Rugby rivals are easing back into training, White has scheduled 6am training sessions on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays to fast-track his team's development.
Working with Haseman was the first step to trying to turn the Brumbies into a ruthless defensive unit. After a 40-minute wrestling session, White got technical and started workshopping defensive ideas with his players and Haseman.
It was Haseman who helped pioneer wrestling in the NRL when he worked with Wayne Bennett at the Brisbane Broncos in 1998.
Brumbies athletic performance director Dean Benton - who worked with Haseman at the Broncos - suggested the club enlist the retired light heavyweight's services.
The 42-year-old has previously worked with the Brumbies in 2000-01 as well as the ARU and NRL club. Now Haseman hopes his techniques will help make the Brumbies ''efficient'' in attack and defence.
''In some cases unfortunately wrestling [in rugby league and union] has got a bad name, but the way I work with it is within the ethics of the game,'' Haseman said.
''We look at dominating in defence or in attack, one-on-one to dominate another person and that's no different to wrestling. It's about efficiency, the more efficient we become, the less energy we use and that's what we specialise in, the only difference in rugby is there's a ball.''
White officially took over the Brumbies coaching reins in July and is piecing together his Super Rugby puzzle.
He has filled all 30 roster spots and will announce the five remaining wider-training group recruits in the coming weeks.
The former South African World Cup-winning mentor is working closely with his players to find the best way to erase the memory of finishing 13th last season.
''The Brumbies have always done something other teams can't do or haven't done,'' White said.
''[Training now] is about finding ways to stimulate the players.
''It's not just about 40 minutes or wrestling, it's about throwing it open to them, what they think and how they want to play the game.
''They know what will work and then we can tweak it. It gives you a way you can measure how we're performing if the players aren't doing what we said we were going to do.
''By the time Christmas comes, I want to make sure everyone is 100per cent ready for January and once we get back all 35 players are ready to be selected and ready to play.''
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White pitches Mogg into gruelling pre-season
Jesse Mogg was all set to move back to Brisbane this year until Jake White signed on as Brumbies coach.
In the first month of his tenure in Canberra, White spotted the Wests fullback in a John I Dent club rugby game and instantly went about signing the skilful fullback to a one-year deal.
He wasn't prepared to let the gifted 22-year-old slip out of the ACT rugby system before getting his chance at Super Rugby level.
It means that instead of winding down for Christmas, as he did 12 months ago, Mogg has been part of a gruelling Brumbies pre-season.
''It's tough,'' Mogg said. ''The first few weeks were the hardest, it's just turning up every day and working for the other boys and working for yourself and the coaches, and hopefully getting the results that we can for next year.''
A rugby junior in Queensland, Mogg switched codes in 2009 and played 14 games for the Brisbane Broncos under-20s before being lured to the Brumbies Academy last year.
After two seasons as the Canberra competition's most dynamic fullback, Mogg was ready to move back home before White came along.
''Jesse's got everything, he can pass, he can kick the ball a mile, I visualised him playing up in the Highveld in South Africa kicking the ball 70, 80m and I thought this is the sort of boy we need,'' White said, recalling the first time he saw Mogg in action.
''He wants to make it and the boys that come to Canberra don't come here for any other reason than they want to be in a good rugby program.
''That's part of the deal we want to try and create at the Brumbies. If boys come here, they take their rugby seriously and they should be rewarded.''
Last month White told his players they would be playing Canberra club rugby during the winter, as opposed to Shute Shield in Sydney.
The drastic move forced some players to sever long-term ties with their Sydney club but White said it was an important step in rebuilding the club from the ground up.
''There's no way this program can run on a satellite basis, there's no way they can allow players to go back and play in Sydney,'' White said.
''They need to feel part of Canberra as Canberra needs to be part of them. When you sign up for the Brumbies you buy in to the fact that you're now part of the Brumbies. That's part of the challenge of being the head coach here - to hopefully create a pathway for the players who play well in the club system just like all the other franchises.''
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