‘I’m still a student of this role’ – Ben White learning on the job in Toulon and how it can benefit Scotland’s Six Nations
Ben White on life at Toulon and Scotland's Six Nations hopes.
When Ben White describes the role of the scrum-half in French rugby, the language shifts immediately. Not playmaker, not distributor, not even commander.
“In France, the nine is the dictator, the general, the forward leader,” he explains, and there’s no hesitation in the terminology. “You’re the main inspiration, the main eyes. So much more of the play comes off nine, so much more of the kicking game. It’s a completely different emphasis to what I experienced in England.”
Watch Maxime Lucu orchestrate Union Bordeaux-Bègles, and you see it immediately, even with Matthieu Jalibert outside him. The nine drives everything. Watch Toulouse, where Antoine Dupont commands the show whether he’s got Romain Ntamack, Thomas Ramos or even Blair Kinghorn at 10 – the nine still dictates. At Toulon, White shares those duties with Baptiste Serin, and both understand the weight of the role.
“Baptiste and I tend to rotate as starters around our system which should be similar whoever starts – and you see it straight away,” White says. “The French nine controls the match in the same way a 10 does for South Africa or England. It’s the general of the side, and when I first arrived at Toulon it took me time to adapt to that play-controlling role. I’d be the first to admit it’s one I’m still learning, but it’s transformed how I think about the position.”
The distinction goes deeper than mere terminology. In France, scrum-halves are trained from youth level to think like fly-halves, to see the game through a 10’s eyes while possessing a nine’s technical skillset. Dupont represents the ultimate expression of this philosophy – comfortable slotting in at fly-half for France when needed, his tactical kicking game rivals most 10s, and his decision-making carries the authority of a playmaker.
“That’s the French model,” White observes. “The nine isn’t just there to serve the 10. He IS a 10 in many ways, just operating closer to the breakdown. It’s why so many French nines can genuinely play 10 if required.”
The education has been overseen by some formidable judges. Charles Ollivon, Toulon’s co-captain and former France skipper, embodies the French approach to forward-driven rugby. David Ribbans, the other co-captain who left England for the south of France, observed recently that “France produce nines like no other – it’s a different role here. They control the match.”
And speaking with White, what emerges isn’t arrogance about his evolution but genuine humility. “I’m still a student of this role, honestly,” he says with characteristic self-deprecation. “Every week I’m picking up something new from Baptiste, from the coaches, from watching how the game flows here.”
Battle-hardened in the trenches
The education began the moment White arrived in the south of France after London Irish’s collapse in 2023.
“Playing in France has had a huge influence on me,” White says. “It makes you battle-hardened. The physicality is massive; the rucks are very scrappy, you need to be technical and accurate just to clear them. The referees like a contest where in the Premiership they want it cleaner, with fewer 50-50s. You have to decide much quicker as a nine. Avoid the jackals. Get the ball gone before they arrive.”
At the base of rucks that resemble car crashes more than clean presentations, White has learned to make decisions faster than he ever did at Leicester or London Irish. The consequence is profound. When he steps into Test rugby with Scotland, everything feels cleaner, easier, more exploitable.
“It works really well for moving into Tests,” he notes. “The ball’s clean and I can really pass. That’s one of my main focuses with Scotland – Finn wants to be flatter, the boys out wide need service. When it hits the floor, I need to get it gone. I do try to take things with me from France, that quick decision-making, but fundamentally with Scotland it’s about hitting the tempo.”
Momentum, flair and the French mindset
But the role extends beyond survival skills. The French mindset around the nine is fundamentally creative.
“It’s all about momentum, creation, flair,” White explains. “Little runs, pops, moving the point of contact. Getting the great carriers moving. When you have those big bodies at pace – and I’m talking about Ollivon, about Zach Mercer, about the calibre of forwards we have at Toulon – momentum is the key. Take space before the defence organises. We know when we’re on top. That’s when the pops and picks come, that’s when the excitement builds.”
For Scotland, the emphasis differs. “It’s more about accuracy and breadth for us. But at Toulon, I can be more expressive, and that allows me to be more versatile with my running game. The French mentality celebrates that. The skill levels are high, the crowd gets right behind us; they love the intricacies and the combat. When you’re balancing the two approaches, when you bring that French edge into the Scottish system, then it ignites.”
The Toulon dressing room provides daily education in multiple languages.
“It’s really cosmopolitan, honestly it’s brilliant fun,” White laughs. “Nacho Brex speaks Italian, Spanish, French and English – all four fluently. Tomás Albornoz, who’s just signed until 2030 and is arguably the best fly-half in the world right now, brings Spanish and decent English. Baptiste and Charles obviously in French. Ribeye, Lewis Ludlam and myself in English. And then you’ve got the great man, Sergio Parisse, who I suspect speaks more languages than he’s got Test caps – and he’s got 142 of those! I talk to people in Franglais most of the time!”
Albornoz’s arrival mid-season from Benetton has added another dimension to Toulon’s attacking arsenal.
“Tomás sees things nobody else does,” White says with genuine admiration. “Working with him, with Baptiste, with the quality we have – it raises your game. But it’s fun, everyone’s comfortable really quickly despite the language barriers, and that mix of perspectives makes you think about the game differently.”
Six Nations ambition and Scottish depth
Gregor Townsend’s 40-man Six Nations selection includes White as central to Scotland’s ambitions. The backline Scotland can call upon reads like a who’s who of international class. Sione Tuipulotu captains from centre, Huw Jones brings Test-match sharpness alongside him, while the back three options include Duhan van der Merwe’s power, Darcy Graham’s finishing instincts, Blair Kinghorn’s versatility and Kyle Rowe’s pace. All ballers, every one of them. And at 10, Finn Russell orchestrates with the kind of free-form creativity that makes defences second-guess themselves.
It’s the Russell partnership that defines White’s Scottish role most clearly. Where at Toulon he’s asked to be the general, the dictator who drives forward play, with Scotland, he becomes something more subtle: Finn’s second set of eyes.
“Finn is very free-form, very instinctive,” White explains. “He sees things that nobody else does, makes decisions that don’t always make sense until you see them work. My job is to complement that, to be reading what he’s reading, to give him the platform and the service that lets him operate. I’m not there to impose structure – that’s not what Finn needs. I’m there to make sure the ball gets to him when he wants it, where he wants it, and to be scanning the same pictures he is so I can anticipate what he’s going to do.”
Six Nations: All the fixtures and kick-off times ahead of the 2026 edition
The dynamic works because White brings that French-honed decision-making speed without trying to control Russell’s genius.
“With those boys out wide – Sione, Huw, Duhan, Darcy, Blair, Kyle – you’ve got weapons everywhere,” White notes. “Finn knows how to unlock them. My focus is simple: hit the floor, get it gone, let Finn do what Finn does. If I can take a bit of pressure off him by reading the game early, by making the right call at the breakdown, then he’s got more space and time to create.”
What White doesn’t mention but what’s become increasingly apparent is how his kicking game, honed relentlessly at Toulon, has added another dimension to Scotland’s tactical armoury.
“The kicking game is such a huge part of what French nines do,” White explains. “You’re expected to have the full range – box kicks, grubbers, contestables, territory kicks. At Toulon, if I don’t execute those properly, we lose field position and momentum. When I’m with Scotland and Finn or Blair need a breather, or we need to shift territory quickly, I can do that now with real confidence. It takes pressure off them, gives us another option tactically.”
Scotland enter the Six Nations Championship with genuine depth at scrum-half. White is joined in the squad by Jamie Dobie, George Horne and others, creating the internal competition that elite teams require.
“At Toulon it’s Baptiste, with Scotland it’s Jamie and George,” White acknowledges. “You have to be on it and honest. The back-row is the same – Gregor Brown and Freddie Douglas are brilliant players in the squad to add to the likes of Jack (Dempsey) and Rory (Darge). The detail and depth are there now.”
The French-based contingent brings particular complications, he adds.
“Blair Kinghorn and I have to fly back, in and outs, two flights each way, two-hour taxis each way. It’s a big undertaking,” White admits. “But we’re a close group, we’re truly mates. I look forward to team room time with Jamie Dobie, George Horne – we’re always together, adding consistency.”
The November lessons haven’t been forgotten. “We lost momentum in games, had those honest chats about how we address it, how we respond,” White reflects. “Those momentum swings – 20-point turns, big swings. Cards can affect that and it’s very hard to control those moments. We need clarity.”
With Sione Tuipulotu captaining the side, Jonny Gray and Dave Cherry recalled, and 19 Glasgow Warriors included after their outstanding European campaign, Scotland have the depth to weather those moments now.
European expectations at Toulon
The Investec Champions Cup pool stages are complete, and Toulon have secured their place in the Round of 16 with a 31-14 victory over Gloucester in their final pool match. Finishing second in their group, they’ll host the Stormers at the Stade Mayol in early April – a tie that White is already relishing.
“The Stormers have been massive in the URC, real quality across the park,” White says. “Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu at 10 is a phenomenal talent, arguably one of the best young fly-halves in world rugby right now. And Cobus Reinach at nine – double World Cup winner, someone I’ve watched and admired for years. These are exactly the kind of players you want to measure yourself against, both at club level and international level. When you’re facing quality like that, it brings the best out of you.”
The respect in White’s voice is genuine. Feinberg-Mngomezulu, just 23, has already established himself as the Stormers captain and a fixture in the Springboks side, his creative flair and tactical kicking drawing comparisons to the greats. Reinach, at 35, brings a different dimension – the veteran craftsman who returned to South Africa after years dominating in England and France, his explosive pace and decision-making unchanged by age.
Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu achieves ANOTHER milestone and sets latest objective with Stormers
“You watch Cobus and you see a nine who controls games, who makes things happen,” White continues. “That’s what I’m trying to develop in my game; that authority, that ability to impose yourself on Test matches. These Round of 16 games are where you find out what you’re made of.”
Ollivon brings French captaincy pedigree, Ribbans offers English-cum-South African steel combined with French flair, and the cosmopolitan nature of the group creates tactical flexibility. What strikes White most is the centrality of rugby to Toulon’s identity.
“The love for rugby, the focus – it’s brilliant to be a part of,” he says. “You go into shops and they ask you about the weekend’s match. Play well and they’ll buy you a beer. I love it, it’s so much fun. It’s the centrepiece of the city, not just another sport. You play the game for these moments. Every game matters.”
Ribbans captured it perfectly when he said earlier this season: “The whole location of the Mayol and the way the town gets around the club and the team is almost unique.”
For White, that environment sharpens focus while simultaneously making rugby feel alive in ways English club rugby rarely achieves.
“I feel well prepared,” he says. “The Top 14 hardens you, tests you every week. The role they ask the nine to play demands more of everything – more leadership, more decision-making, more creativity.”
Whether that’s Toulon’s European campaign or Scotland’s Six Nations challenge, White has found his edge in the most unexpected place – not by changing what he does, but by accepting a role that demands more of everything. Dictator, general, forward leader. The French nine carries weight the rest of the rugby world hasn’t quite grasped yet.
For him, that education continues daily, shaping him into a scrum-half who understands what different systems demand. And he does it all with the affable charm and genuine likeability that makes teammates want to follow him into battle – whether that’s in the Mediterranean sunshine or the Edinburgh cold.
Want more from Planet Rugby? Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list for world-class coverage you can trust.