Jason White calls time on professional career

Rugby reporter

Wednesday 5 December 2012

jason White has confirmed that his professional playing career is over, bringing to an end lingering speculation that he could yet move to another club after his contract with French side Clermont Auvergne ended a few months ago.

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Alasdair Reid

White, who helped to coach the star-studded Scottish invitation outfit Xodus Steelers to victory in the Dubai International Veterans Tens tournament at the weekend, had hoped to find another club and was strongly linked to a move back to Glasgow, his first professional club, but since that possibility evaporated he has now decided his days in the paid ranks are finally over.

White, 34, who became a father for the third time recently, is still living in France, but expects to move back to Scotland in a few months' time. However, he has no intention of turning his back on rugby, although any coaching role he takes on is likely to be at a low-key level."That's me finished," said the 77-times capped forward who played mostly on the blindside flank but also put in some notable performance as lock. "I won't be playing professional rugby again. We've just had a little girl, so I'm on daddy duty for a while, which is great."When the prospect of a return to Glasgow fell through, White had already received an offer to work for Xodus, an Aberdeen-based oil consultancy with whom he has had an ambassadorial role for the past few years, but he indicated that he wanted time to consider his options. He now expects to take up the Xodus offer, working part-time in a development and team-building role, while also working for his agent Rowen Shepherd's management company."I was certainly keen on a move back to Glasgow and there were signs of interest at their end and a lot of talk in the press about it." said White. "Unfortunately, it never quite happened. I would have liked to go there, but it wasn't to be."Ironically, White was actually too young to play in the Dubai Tens tournament, where players must be 35 or over, but he may well figure in the event next year. Working alongside former Scotland coach Frank Hadden – the tournament's squad profiles suggested that Hadden was White's assistant – he oversaw a thrilling victory in which the Steelers, featuring such players as Stuart Reid, Duncan Hodge and Craig Joiner, beat the Welsh charity side Christina Noble 14-10 in front of 50,000 spectators.White said: "It's an unbelievable event. It's a wonderful social experience, but it gets serious when the rugby begins. The players might come here to have a bit of fun, but when the game starts, everyone is still giving their all. There are some pretty big hits, with absolutely no quarter given. A lot of these guys have played at a pretty high level and that's just the way they do things."White, who moved from Glasgow to Sale in 2003 and spent six seasons with the English side before his transfer to Clermont Auvergne, has yet to decide what level of involvement he will have in rugby when he returns to Scotland, a move that is likely to take place next summer, but his enthusiasm for the sport is obvious."I've been watching the Scotland games recently and it has been hugely frustrating because they are so close to doing well," he said. "But it is about winning and they're just not finishing the job. There's no question the talent is there, but they've not been getting results."Personally, I certainly want to carry on doing something in rugby, although I'm not really sure at what level. I would love to coach, but I look at the professional level and I think I don't want to sacrifice my family life to do that. "The main thing is that I want to get the family settled back in Scotland again and I don't want to be moving them around following me. I might get involved in kids rugby at some level perhaps, but you never know what else might crop up."n Yorkshireman Mike Cusack has signed a three-year contract extension with Glasgow Warriors. The club have announced that the 28-year-old tighthead prop will remain at Scotstoun until May 2016.The former Leeds forward has made 33 appearances since arriving in Glasgow in June 2011 from Doncaster."This was an easy decision for me to make," he said. "We're building an exceptionally strong side. I want to help this club achieve success and that means committing to the direction the club are going."Gregor Townsend, the head coach, said: "He is developing a formidable reputation as one of the best tightheads in the game and to have him here at Scotstoun for the long term is terrific news."

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Jason White calls time on professional career

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