My Life in Rugby: Jason White – former Scotland flanker

Jason WhiteKicking off with a Calcutta Cup win against in 2009 was a fantastic way to start my international career and I feel blessed to win a total of 77 caps between 2000-2009 and playing in two World Cups.
hadn't won a game that year so it was a huge result, especially as it denied England the Grand Slam.
It was filthy weather and Lawrence Dallaglio scored off a scrum early doors. At the time I thought I had made a big mistake but, looking back, it was a bit of a mix-up between me and Andy Nicol and how we defended the base of the scrum. After that, it all went by in a flash. Duncan Hodge scored all our points in the 19-13 win.
I came across Duncan when I moved from Aberdeen to Edinburgh to attend the renowned rugby school, George Watson's College, on a scholarship. Things took off for me there, and I was selected by Scotland to tour .
My professional rugby life started at the now defunct Caledonia Reds. We played in two European Cup campaigns and surprised everyone bar ourselves by winning the Inter-District in 1996/97. Eventually Caledonia merged into Glasgow and I spent five years there before following my old team-mate, Rowan Shepherd, down to , after the 2003 .
I went to that RWC in a rich vein of try-scoring form…by my standards anyway, with three tries in four Tests. Ball-carrying and tackling were normally the way I liked to make an impression on a game.
The two crunching tackles I made on Jerry Flannery and Paul Sackey in the are the ones that I remember most vividly. I hit Flannery man and ball and stopped him dead in his tracks, while I drove Sackey back a good few yards before bringing him to ground in another win against the English – the third of my career. Eddie Butler described it in commentary as “another trademark Jason White tackle”.
I enjoyed my World Cup experience and it was good to get to the quarter-finals in both 2003 and 2007.
There was less pressure on me personally in the first one out in Australia because I was relatively new to the team. Sharing the same hotel as a Hell's Angels convention in Cronulla was an interesting experience and I think the management took the right decision to move us somewhere else! Four years later, I captained Scotland in . You dream of playing for your country but to then captain the side, too, was unbelievable.
Back at Sale we were building momentum.
We had a world-class pack and quality backs and, on our day, we were a match for anyone as our Premiership title win in 2006 proved. Philippe Saint-Andre understood the game well while his right-hand man, Kingsley Jones, was great for team morale. They made a good double act who got the best out of the squad.
The chance to try out something new and experience a different lifestyle led to me to France in 2009, where I enjoyed three great seasons with where the fans are the best that I have ever come across.
Two of my children were born while we were there and I'll always look back fondly on that time in my life.
A big contingent of family and friends came over to watch me in my farewell game, a win against Brive. I was one of the lucky ones in that I retired on my own terms.
My current employers, Red Sky Management, made the transition relatively smooth and as well as my job with them as an athlete director, I enjoy coaching my local club North Berwick.
 *As told to Jon Newcombe

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