Selborne College headmaster Andrew Dewar says legal options are being considered after Jake White’s explosive letter.
The former Springbok coach recently stepped away from his role as a rugby consultant at the East London school, along with director of rugby Derek Page, citing a lack of support and interference in rugby matters.
In his letter to the Selborne Foundation Trust – which has since gone public – White accused the headmaster of not being fully committed to the project, poor communication and creating obstacles that made it impossible to drive meaningful change within the rugby programme.
White also claimed key decisions around coaching, scheduling and communication were being controlled at headmaster level, ultimately leading to his decision to walk away.
Dewar has now issued a response (provided to Rugby365):
I can’t say much because there is a legal team looking into the defamatory information on that letter.
I can say though that my role is to service the whole school and support everything we do, not only focus on rugby.
Every boy is valued at Selborne College, and every sport needs to be treated equally.
Academics are important. Principals of schools want the institution to be a success and a centre of excellence.
People need to understand; we are not a rugby institute.
As the headmaster of the school, I cannot allow people to be making decisions that are not in the best interest of the school and the children.
I need to be the final decision maker to make sure that due diligence has been observed.
When asked whether White and Page could return to the school, the headmaster opted not to provide comment.
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Page, meanwhile, backed White’s claims, saying both had encountered the same resistance.
“I can confirm that both Jake and I stepped back from our positions at the school,” he told Rugby365.
“I’ve been working with Jake from when he started, and we were trying to bring about change, make the place better, and uplift the rugby programme, but the headmaster kept rolling speed bumps on the way.
“I can tell you that I’ve experienced exactly what Jake has experienced. There are clearly some internal issues there.”
Page questioned the structure at the school, adding: “What’s the point of bringing in a director of rugby whose hands are tied behind his back?
“When we came in, we wanted to bring in coaches and improve the players’ skill level, but we were told no. Under no circumstances. Instead, the headmaster chooses the coaches himself.
“We tried to increase the fixtures and give the junior teams more games, and we weren’t allowed to do that.
“One of the first things we also tried to implement was a bursary system to try and keep our young talent from Selborne Primary in the system, but the headmaster said there’s no space for them.”
Photo: @Rugby_Scoop/X
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