Former Springboks boss Jake White is in the running to take over as Fiji’s head coach, according to reports.
The Pacific Island nation is in the market for a new head coach after Mick Byrne stepped down in April, with Senirusi Seruvakula taking charge in the interim.
According to multiple reports, the Fiji Rugby Union has received 31 applications for the vacancy and has begun the shortlisting process.
Jake White set for Test rugby return
Former Wales head coach Warren Gatland is reportedly one of the 31 to apply for the job, as is White, who has been working as a rugby consultant at Selborne College following his departure from the Bulls last year.
According to a report by Afrikaans publication Rapport, White is one of the leading candidates for the position.
“He is on their shortlist and is regarded as the favourite. In Fiji, they are already talking about him as the new head coach,” a source told the publication.
Fiji are set to name Byrne’s successor in the coming days, with the job advert for the position stating that the contract begins on October 5 and runs through to the end of 2027.
If White is to land the position, it would be his first gig as head coach in international rugby since 2007, when he led the Springboks to Rugby World Cup glory in France. The ex-Bulls boss has made no secret of his desire to return to Test rugby.
“I was 40 when I coached South Africa, and before I turned 44, I won the World Cup and had finished coaching them. I haven’t been involved in coaching Test rugby since that time,” he told RugbyPass earlier this year.
“And so, when you say, do I want to get back? I still think I have unfinished business at the Test level. It’s like taking Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu out of Test rugby now.”
“Telling him he will never play again when he’s first shown you that he can compete at that level. I coached South Africa, I know how South Africa operates, and I know South Africa is the benchmark.
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“I know South Africa is probably going to have to get beaten for someone to win the World Cup. You would think that would be a sort of commodity in coaching.”
Fiji are currently ranked 10th in the World Rugby rankings following their defeat to Japan in the Pacific Nations Cup final.
The new head coach of the team is set to take charge of the side ahead of the Nations Championship matches against France, Ireland and Italy in November.
If White is to land the position, he could go head-to-head with Rassie Erasmus, with the Springboks set to face Fiji in a World Cup warm-up Test in Gosford on 18 September 2027.