Jake White is regarded as the leading candidate to become Fiji's next head coach, with the Fiji Rugby Union having received 31 applications for the position and now in the process of shortlisting.
According to Afrikaans publication Rapport, White sits at the top of the pile. "He is on their shortlist and is regarded as the favourite. In Fiji, they are already talking about him as the new head coach," a source told the publication.
White has been working as a rugby consultant at Selborne College since leaving the Bulls last year and has been open about wanting to return to international coaching. "I still think I have unfinished business at the Test level," he told RugbyPass earlier this year. The appointment would mark his first head coaching role in Test rugby since he led the Springboks to the 2007 World Cup title in France.
Former Wales coach Warren Gatland is also among the 31 applicants. Fiji's interim head coach Senirusi Seruvakula has been holding the reins since Mick Byrne stepped down in April.
The contract for the role runs from 5 October through to the end of 2027, with the new coach set to take immediate charge of November's Nations Championship fixtures against France, Ireland and Italy. Fiji, currently ranked 10th in the world after their defeat to Japan in the Pacific Nations Cup final, are due to name Byrne's successor within days.
Should White land the job, one of his marquee assignments would be a World Cup warm-up Test against the Springboks in Gosford on 18 September 2027.