John Mitchell
It looks like the DHL Stormers should soon be in position to unveil their new coach to replace England bound Eddie Jones, with John Mitchell reportedly having met with Western Province officials in Cape Town late on Tuesday.
The former All Black coach is the only person who fits the requirements laid out last week by WP director of rugby Gert Smal last week – namely that the new coach preferably have an overseas slant to his coaching, have coached international rugby, have coached Super Rugby for at least seven seasons and have experience and knowledge of the South African rugby culture.
When asked about the meeting on Wednesday morning, all Mitchell could say was that he’d had fruitful discussions and that WP had been very professional in the way they had formulated their approach. However Mitchell was not at liberty to divulge further details and he has not signed on the dotted line, so negotiations appear to be ongoing.
But it does appear that Mitchell is happier with what is proposed this time than he was when he was previously approached to be Stormers head coach earlier in the year. Back then he was offered just a 2 year contract, which he didn’t feel was long enough for him to leave his current employ as a CEO of a packaging company in Pietermaritzburg.
With the position appearing to be tailored for the man who has picked up extensive experience in a coaching career that started in 1995 and has seen him coach in almost every top rugby playing nation, it is surely only a matter of time before he is announced as the new Stormers coach.
SuperSport