If you’ll excuse the expression, there aren’t many shades of grey with Jake White.

He is either adored or detested. I’m in the former camp, probably because I’ve only ever found him likeable, pragmatic and friendly. Plus he’s outstanding company.

White is shaking things up in France where his hardnosed approach hasn’t impressed the romantics who still foolishly cling to the notion that the French are somehow flamboyant and wedded to joie de vivre.

Those days are ancient history. White’s Montpellier recently smashed Harlequins to claims the European Challenge Cup playing the sort of rugby White had his teams play in SA.

Does White care for the naysayers? Not a jot, as this excellent piece in Rugby World tells us.

Gordon Bray is one of the most popular and knowledgeable commentators on the rugby circuit and seems to have been around forever.

ESPN caught up with him for a chat and what follows is a terrific yarn about coming through the ranks and calling some of the biggest games of all, including Japan’s heroic defeat of the Springboks last year.

The sporting zeitgeist is shot through with misery, although the New York Times predicts that the doping crisis afflicting almost every sport will have zero impact on sports fans. Like the suckers we are, we’ll still tune in and watch the pretenders and contenders.

The piece suggests that we’re suckers for drama and it would take more than a few doping busts to crush our spirits. Not far wrong, I suspect.

Away from sport, here’s a galloping read on a Ukrainian hacker whose story just begs to be turned into a movie. But who would believe him?

One of the best reads of the year comes via Evan Ratliff, one of the smart guys behind the excellent Longform podcast. He’s done a heroic job tracking down the staggering story behind Zimbabwe-born Paul le Roux, a computer coder turned criminal mastermind whose swashbuckling life is scarcely fathomable.

“The Mastermind” is a seven-part series of around 40 000 words, so it’s a meaty read. Set aside a few hours. You won’t be sorry – it’s the treat of the week.