Will probably be a full-circle second when Jake White and Sean Everitt duel within the EPCR Problem Cup quarter-final in Edinburgh on Saturday.
White’s Vodacom Bulls face off in opposition to Everitt’s Edinburgh within the Scottish capital, reuniting two South African teaching minds in a profession path of mentorship, divergence and symmetry.
What began as a mentor-protégé relationship advanced right into a friendship, then a rivalry and now an intercontinental showdown as the 2 golf equipment battle to progress on the highway to Cardiff’s Problem Cup remaining on Friday, 23 Could.
Their intertwined previous, from the Sharks to the Bulls and now this European showdown, provides a layer of intrigue to what’s already a high-stakes playoff.
The story begins in 2013 on the Sharks the place White arrived as director of rugby and head coach, contemporary off a profitable Tremendous Rugby stint with the Brumbies in Canberra, following his 2007 World Cup triumph as head coach of the Springboks.
Everitt, then an assistant coach with deep roots within the Durban-based franchise, labored underneath White, whose time at Kings Park was temporary, resulting in his departure after only one season.
In 2015, White swapped South Africa for France, taking the helm at Montpellier the place he rapidly etched his title within the report books, guiding the membership to the 2015-16 Problem Cup title with a 26-19 win over Harlequins – underlining his credentials as a person who might remodel underperforming groups into contenders and champions.
Everitt, in the meantime, stayed with the Sharks, climbing the ranks and by 2019 he was head coach, main the crew to consecutive Currie Cup finals in 2021.
His tenure led to late 2022 after a heavy defeat, however alternative knocked early the next yr when his telephone rang and White was on the opposite finish of the road providing him a job.
The World Cup-winning coach had returned to South Africa in 2020, rebuilding the Pretoria-based outfit right into a home power, and he recruited Everitt as guide. The reunion was temporary as Everitt was lured away in July 2023 to develop into the Edinburgh head coach.
Quick ahead to 2025 and the Problem Cup has set the stage for an intriguing twist.
Everitt’s Edinburgh earned their quarter-final spot with a gritty 24-12 win over the Lions within the spherical of 16, mixing defensive metal with attacking aptitude. White’s Bulls adopted swimsuit, overpowering residence crew Bayonne 32-22 with their trademark physicality and strike energy.
Now, the 2 teaching paths intersect once more in poetic symmetry: White left Everitt on the Sharks to win the Problem Cup with Montpellier, and Everitt left White on the Bulls and is closing in on the identical trophy with Edinburgh – solely to satisfy his former boss within the quarters.
White is aware of Everitt’s methodology from their Sharks days and the 2023 Bulls overlap, whereas Everitt has stable intel on White’s Bulls machine.
“I in all probability know him higher than most different coaches know him,” White mentioned in a media convention final season within the buildup to the spherical 5 Vodacom URC conflict in Edinburgh.
“I understand how he thinks, I understand how he coaches … and I do know he’s intelligent sufficient to not go too removed from what Edinburgh needs to do.
“Edinburgh play a sure model, Scotland play a sure model, and I’m certain he’ll carry one or two nuances to the crew however not go too removed from what has made them profitable prior to now.”
Everitt was certainly profitable as Edinburgh clinched a 31-23 victory over the visiting Bulls. Nevertheless, when the 2 coaches battled within the inaugural URC playoffs, it was White’s crew that received via.
The Bulls completed the 2021-22 season in fourth place with 58 factors whereas Everitt’s Sharks logged 57 factors in fifth place. When elimination was on the road within the quarter-final at Loftus Versfeld, it was White who emerged victorious.
ALSO: Bulls undertake ‘sensible’ method to KO Edinburgh
Now, the stakes are larger.
White’s Bulls are making their maiden Problem Cup quarter-final look. Their Investec Champions Cup marketing campaign led to three pool defeats, and the Edinburgh playoff represents a chance for redemption.
Edinburgh, sitting eighth within the URC with 36 factors, have been extra constant in Europe, topping their Problem Cup pool with three wins.
Edinburgh will financial institution on the velocity of the Hive Stadium artificial turf and fervent residence assist, whereas the Bulls are battle-hardened and using excessive after victory in Bayonne.
It’s a tactical chess match with a private edge – a shot at an Edinburgh legacy for Everitt, and an opportunity for White to reassert his teaching seniority.
Buckle up, this one goes to be an eventful reunion.
STATE OF THE EURO CUPS: Bulls fly SA flag
Picture: Steve Haag/Gallo Pictures
