Exiles turn to White ahead of Thomond clash

LONDON IRISH will have the benefit of advice from former Springboks coach Jake White in advance of this weekend’s Heineken Cup clash with Munster in Limerick.

White has been brought on board the London Irish ticket as a consultant on the shortest of short-term contracts (a week) and will advise the Exiles how to improve, despite the club ending a 10-match losing streak by virtue of Sunday’s 24-12 victory over the Ospreys.

London Irish Director of Rugby, Toby Booth, and his coaching staff persuaded White last week to help out and the World Cup-winning coach was happy to lend his services.

“I’ll spend a week with the club and will be able to provide an outside and objective viewpoint. It also provides me with an opportunity to see the inner workings of the club, and having being involved in similar stints with Saracens, Toulon and Suntory before, that should be interesting to compare,” he said.

White, who has also shown interest in the newly-created RFU Performance Director position, touched down in London on Tuesday and will work with the struggling Exiles for the remainder of the week. He will also travel with the team to Limerick for the clash with Munster, who will be pushing to secure one of the wild card places in the Amlin Cup.