In 2007, about halfway through the Super 14, Jake White, the Springbok coach, took a phone call from his lawyer requesting a meeting with him and Craig Livingstone, White’s agent. White’s lawyer said he had “something important” to propose to him.
In his autobiography, In Black and White, the Jake White Story, written with journalist Craig Ray, White recalls that at the meeting they spoke about some legal issues before the lawyer dropped the bomb: “Listen guys, I’ve been asked to meet with you on behalf of the Watson family.”
Nothing is elementary when it comes to the dear Watson family, led by Cheeky and his son Luke. White did not rate Luke Watson as a player and did not want to pick him. The Watson family were politically connected and brought that weight to bear on White.
The offer, White’s lawyer told him, was simple. These were the demands: Luke Watson must play for the Boks and go to the World Cup in France. If White agreed, then he would work in SA rugby after the 2007 World Cup. If he didn’t, then he would not “coach the team to the World Cup”...