White “might have had a heart attack” if he’d continued

The chief medical consultant of the World Cup winning South African side has rubbished the science behind the now famous cryotherapy facility in Spala — visited by the Irish squad on a pre-tournament trip.

Writes Donnchadh Boyle for the Irish Independent.

Eddie O’Sullivan’s men headed to the Polish venue last July in a bid to bring fitness levels to a new high. However, Professor Tim Noakes of Cape Town University dismissed the benefits of the trip saying “there is no science behind it… it’s a load of rubbish”.

Noakes was in Dublin for the Irish Institute of Sport’s conference on Elite sports which saw over 200 delegates and several experts in their respective fields gather at Croke Park. Several theories have been put forward since Ireland’s dismal display at the World Cup and he maintains the benefits of that trip were minimal — at best.

“Jake (White, South African coach) wanted to go because the Irish and the English had told them it was great. But he canned it when we told him to and it was the right decision,” explained the South African native. “In the old days, when a team under-performed people said they had done too little but in the professional era teams are much more likely to be overcooked.”

It’s an interesting theory given that the Genesis report told us the Irish squad were under exposed but the idea of an over-trained squad cannot be dismissed either as the idea behind the Spala facility is that it allows players to train harder for longer.

Noakes seems better positioned to pass judgement on the benefits of such preparation than most. He is obviously well regarded back home as he is now working under his third Springbok coach after the appointment of Peter DeVilliers earlier this month. His impressive CV tells us that he also co-founded the Sports Science Institute of South Africa with former Springbok captain Morne de Plessis (whose father had also led the side) and his expertise in the area of the effects of cold conditions on the body is unrivalled having undertaken a series of experiments in the Arctic and Antarctic.

Contribution

In his book, ‘Black and White’, Jake White underlined the huge contribution made by Noakes and his team to the victory. In fact, his role has been expanded since the World Cup and he is now responsible for the well being of the entire playing staff in the provincial game at home as well as the national side. Hugely respected in his field, Noakes went on to reveal that their World Cup win was the result of four years’ preparation.

“Jake told the guys the first time he met them that they were going to win the World Cup. He sat them down in a room and told them they would win. And from there on we managed them accordingly. The first two years Jake had to survive (in the job) but after that he bought into our way of thinking.”

The pair came in for severe criticism at home after White’s decision (on the advice of Noakes) to leave no fewer than 20 of his top players at home for last year’s Tri-Nations trip to Australia and New Zealand. The ‘Boks caused a furore and were accused of de-valuing the competition and there was even talk of a court case against the South African Rugby Union after the move.

Similarly, last year’s Autumn tour saw the South African’s go through a poor run of results, including a 32-15 loss to Ireland in Lansdowne Road — only their third ever defeat at the hands of the Irish. This didn’t go down well in South Africa, especially as the ‘Boks were celebrating their centenary year, putting yet more pressure on the duo.

However, White and Noakes believed in their four-year plan as they blooded several new players and, while the results suffered at the time, the long-term benefits were soon reaped. White had completely bought into Noakes’ medical plan to rest the players as often as possible — the ‘Boks had learned from prior mistakes.

“Back in July 1998, we were 17 or 18 games unbeaten and I was asked what South Africa had to do to win the World Cup in 1999. I said not travel to the northern hemisphere that December, but they did and we lost. The players simply had played too much rugby,” Noakes revealed.

Noakes was determined that wouldn’t happen again. However, White did insist that they play a full-strength side for their pre-World Cup tests against England. It turned out to be a masterstroke on the part of the coach.

“Jake said we had to have the strongest team against England. He obviously had a premonition and we ended up playing against them in the final. We gave them two good beatings and had the psychological advantage going into the final. But that was the risk he took — he didn’t bring them to New Zealand and Australia and nearly lost his job, but played them against England because he had worked out that they would be a bigger problem for us.”

White did come perilously close to losing his job after some dismal results and only a letter from Noakes saying the players had been left behind on medical grounds saved him — which Noakes now admits was only “partly true”.

Belief

“On his wall he (Jake White) had three key players for each position. He had it from day one and by and large they stayed the same. The key was that in 2006 we were very ineffective but in 2007 — when it mattered — we were on top of our game.

“I spoke to them in August for an hour about self-belief. They were sitting forward and listening — on the edge of their seats. I knew then that they would win.”

The self-belief certainly was there and Jake White and the ’07 Springboks wrote themselves into the history books. Noakes is unsure how the former coach fills his day now, saying he is on the books of a major company back home but he is glad his old friend didn’t look for another term in the hot seat.

“He couldn’t have survived. He might have had a heart attack or something. He aged tremendously during that period. The pressure is terrible and I think he shouldn’t coach for a while… (we had) an exceptional group of young men.”

So had we.