CANBERRA, Australia (AP) World Cup-winning coach Jake White was granted a release from the final two years of his contract with Super Rugby's ACT Brumbies on Thursday, and was strongly linked to a reunion with John Smit at South Africa's Sharks.
The Brumbies said in a statement that White asked to be released from the Canberra-based Brumbies last Friday while on vacation in South Africa and had been in contact with ACT chief executive Andrew Fagan and senior players.
"I'd have to say that I was shocked when Jake called to tell me that he was intending to stay in South Africa," Fagan said in a statement confirming White's surprise departure after he led ACT to this year's Super Rugby final.
New Sharks chief executive Smit, White's captain when he coached South Africa to the World Cup title in 2007, then opened the way for a reunion at the Sharks after Fagan said White's immediate future was back in South Africa.
"Could Jake White add value (to the Sharks)? Of course he can," Smit said later Thursday. "He is a very successful coach with an amazing track record. We would welcome an opportunity to engage with him, should it so arise."