April 24, 2003

Jason White takes the lead in his final match for Glasgow

Posted by Editor on April 24, 2003 04:04 PM | No comments | Print | E-mail author
Jason White will lead Glasgow into their final match of the season against the Borders tomorrow night at Hughenden (ko 7.30pm). The match will also be White's last for the club before moving to Zurich Premiership team Sale Sharks.

Retiring club captain Andy Nicol and Gordon Bulloch will start the game on the bench, and White has admitted to mixed feelings about leading the team on his last outing for a club he feels has so far failed to achieve its potential.

"It will be sad. I'm leaving a lot of friends here, but other than that I'm ready," he said. "I've got to commit myself to Sale and the challenges there."

White admits to frustration that Glasgow have been unable to take the step from being a side capable of playing with real flair and occasionally upsetting the best to one capable of winning trophies.

"It's about continually challenging myself to get better. Don't get me wrong, the rugby up here is not easy and if the Celtic League goes full time in the next couple of years then it will be hard rugby week in, week out. However, I still see Glasgow needing a couple of years to become a challenging force within the Celtic League and the European competitions." White told Kevin Ferrie in The Herald

"We have shown flashes of not quite genius, but of being able to play at a good level and have teetered on the brink of doing something in the Celtic League. There have been some good results in the European Cup, too, but we've not even come close to breaking the away thing and we've had no consistency. So at this stage I felt I needed a chance to challenge myself on every front, really."

White arrives at Sale at the same time as Braam van Straaten, the then Springbok whose head he accidentally kicked while rucking the ball in that incident at Firhill five years ago. White received a four month ban for the incident.

"The only time I've spoken to van Straaten since was at the post-match dinner, when I apologised to him," he said. "Gordon Ross (currently a team-mate of van Straaten's at Leeds) made a joke the other week that maybe Braam and I could share a flat together."

Andy Nicol has turned down the chance to coach Murrayfield Wanderers and is understood to be considering offers from two Division 1 clubs.

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