What record does Jake White want the most?
By Kevin McCallum
Jake White will equal the record of one successful Springbok coach on Saturday, but has in his sights a larger and entirely more important record to break.
On Saturday White will equal the record of Nick Mallett when he coaches his 38th test match, but said on Monday that "there's only one big record I want to equal and that's Kitch Christie's record of having won the World Cup. That's the most important record for any coach to break.
"Whatever happens now, whatever has happened in the past, what I have done as coach so far is not unimportant but, to be successful as coach of the Springboks I want to win the World Cup."
As the furore around the Luke Watson selection refuses to die down, White on Monday concentrated on making the best use of the less than five days available to him to prepare for a test match against the World Cup holders at Bloemfontein's Vodacom Park on Saturday.
"The time we've had together has been reduced because of the success of the Super 14 final. We had hoped to get together with the core group on about May 7," said White.
"My focus for this week is to get the best possible combinations playing together. Last year we didn't have Schalk (Burger) and Bakkies (Botha) for a large part of the season.
"We only had Schalk for two weeks and Bakkies didn't play one Test match. I want to get the core group of those players together as we look ahead to the Test matches now and the World Cup further down the line."
White is not taking the two tests against England lightly and following the news on Monday that Fourie du Preez could be out for up to six weeks with a shoulder injury, will stick with the players who have served him well in the first two years of his tenure as coach.
Continuity will be king for the Springboks, with 10 of the XV expected to start in the first test against England on Saturday having played in last week's Vodacom Super 14 final. All but two of the pack, the scrumhalf, outside centre and a wing come from the Bulls and the Sharks, as White seeks to put together his strongest possible team to take on England.
"People can say it's a weakened England side, but I don't buy into that," said White.
"Look at their backline you have (Jonny) Wilkinson, (Jamie) Noon, David Strettle, (Andy) Farrell, James Simpson-Daniel, Jason Robinson, and that's not too far off their first-choice backline.
"They have some experience in the pack in (34-year-old prop) Kevin Yates and (35-year-old hooker) Mark Regan All of those guys have got experience in the premiership and will have done their homework on the South Africans.
"We've been getting some information on them from Bob Skinstad, who has seen them play in the Premiership. This England side is not going to lie down and die. They've been picked to do a job."
With Du Preez, Jaque Fourie (groin) and Andre Pretorius (buttock) already sent home for further treatment, five others in the squad had niggles.
Os du Randt left training early with a thigh strain, while JP Pietersen (hand), Joe van Niekerk (back), Johan Ackermann (leg) and Akona Ndungane (toe) were all rested from Monday's first training session in a bitterly cold Bloemfontein.
White made his intentions entirely clear, as he put his first-choice XV together. Gurthro Steenkamp played at loosehead, and will retain that position if Du Randt does not recover.
He will be alongside John Smit and BJ Botha in the front row of a pack locked by Bakkies Botha and Victor Matfield, who will play their 26th Test match as lock partners, and flanked by Juan Smith, Schalk Burger and Pierre Spies.
Ricky Januarie, Butch James, Jean de Villiers, Wynand Olivier, Bryan Habana, Ashwin Willemse and Percy Montgomery will make up the backline.
There are options for the bench, but White is expected to go with players who offer him options in a variety of positions. Danie Rossouw and Johann Muller, for instance, can cover at lock and flank, while Ruan Pienaar is expected to be the utility back on the bench, playing anywhere from scrumhalf to fullback.