Peter Bills: Open letter to South Africa's rugby public

To whom it may concern,

So the vultures are circling, there is the whiff of a kill in the air.

The clamour for Springboks coach Jake White's head has gathered momentum since the side's abject 49-0 capitulation to Australia in Brisbane last week. The South Africans now confront New Zealand in Wellington tonight and their Australian tormentors a fortnight later.

A journey home might seem like solace, but not with the All Blacks hard on their heels and preparing for two tests, in Pretoria and Rustenburg. Suddenly, White's Springboks could be staring at a run of six consecutive defeats. Leopards get lunches on that sort of form. So I'd suggest all those who want White out, should sign up here.

Let those who have a hidden agenda, or those who have for any reason always objected to his coaching tenure with the Springboks, get out their pens and put down their names. But before you put pen to paper, let me explain what you will be signing up for.

* The Springboks will throw away more than two years of great work and achievement.

In that time, under White, the reputation of the Springboks has been resuscitated.

* The 2004 Tri-Nations was won, the 2005 title was missed only in the last two minutes in Dunedin. Oh and by the way, South Africa was the only nation to defeat New Zealand last year.

* They'll also throw away any remaining chance of winning the World Cup next year. It would be far too late for a new coach to come in, establish his own coaching team and players, select a new system and get the players adapting to it.

* By signing, you will also blind yourselves to the reality that any side in the world would struggle without at least six of its strongest team. Eliminate Stephen Larkham, Matt Giteau, George Smith, Dan Vickerman, Chris Latham and Lote Tuqiri from the Wallabies and see how potent they are. Remove Richie McCaw, Carl Hayman, Dan Carter, Tony Woodcock, Chris Jack, Mils Muliaina from the All Blacks and see whether they remain all-conquering.

Congratulations. Your signature will confirm a triumph for the highly emotional over common sense. But that surely won't worry you. After all, hasn't Jake White made mistakes? Sure he has, I'd be the first to say that. I have by no means always agreed with his selections. But find me a coach who hasn't made some seemingly strange selection decisions.

Manchester United fans wanted Sir Alex Ferguson sacked before he'd won a single trophy at Old Trafford. The wisdom of their viewpoint has been subsequently laid bare by events at the club. When you sign, you'll doubtless be saying that White just doesn't seem to be up to the job. But there's one factor you've forgotten. Transformation.

People talk and make judgments as though the transformation aspect isn't an issue.

Clearly, it is. It affects every team White chooses. Tell Graham Henry he can't choose the team he'd really like to select, maybe his best team, because other issues are more important.

See how he reacts. Did anyone think it would be easy to work in the transformation era without difficulties? They must be naive if they did. But it represents the future of the country; yes, it is even more important, in my view, than winning the World Cup. In a perfect world, both would happen. But this world isn't perfect.

Sack White and you continue a thoroughly shameful, depressing run in which no Springboks coach has held the job for much more than 2 1/2 years. How crazy is that? What chance of continuity? Sack White and you establish a frightening trend for the future that says, even if a coach wins the Tri-Nations and then comes within an ace of retaining it, as soon as his men lose to Australia and/or New Zealand, he's out.

If that is allowed to happen, the lunatics are in charge of the asylum.

If, in your considered judgment, you believe that signing this document somehow represents the way forward for South African rugby, then sign you must.

.............................

Personally, I wouldn't so much as add a pencil mark to such madness. Cutting my own throat has never really appealed to me as an occupation.

That is precisely what sacking White would represent at this time for South African rugby.

Peter Bills