NZRU no longer 'pine-headed'

Politics and rugby go hand-in-hand – especially in the most high-profile teams like New Zealand and South Africa.

Controversial former All Blacks coach John Mitchell has first-hand experience of this – the meddling of a board, egos and power-hungry officials causing problems for the national team.

In his recently released book – Mitch: The Real Story – he does not hold back when he talks about the issues he had with upper management at the New Zealand Rugby Union.

His fractious relationship with then All Black team manager Andrew Martin features very prominently.

"[David] Rutherford [the NZRU CEO] had asked me to meet Steve Tew [NZRU board member] and [team manger Andrew] Martin at the latter's house without delay to sign the contract," he said of the immediate aftermath of the announcement on 3 October 2001, that he was appointed as All Black coach.

"That should have been as warning sign, because a big contract like that would normally be signed in a more formal environment, such as an office or hotel."

He went on to explain the issues that troubled his tenure.

"It was then that I encountered my first problem with my contract, something that would remain a bone of contention between the NZRU and me for the duration of my tenure as coach.

"The contract stipulated that I had to report to the team manager. I did a double take when I read that and refused to sign. I pointed out that I had applied to be the All Black coach, and that meant being the leader."

In an exclusive interview with rugby365, Mitchell said most of the issues that caused so much strive back then has now been rectified.

"My views in the book only comes from the time I was involved," he said, adding: "Unfortunately timing is everything.

"They [the NZRU] have evolved enormously since then and they are far more united and work together much better now. Certainly in my time it was a lot different."

He felt it was unfortunate that things first had to go wrong, before they could come right.

"Sometimes you have people who are pine-headed and resist structural change," Mitchell told rugby365.

"Sometimes your are a martyr of change and don't necessary bear the fruits [of those changes]."

He also spoke at length about the controversy surrounding his decision to leave out legends like Jeff Wilson, Taine Randell and Christian Cullen, saying he needed to be "assertive" in order to change a rotting culture.

"In my first squad selection, I dropped some legends of the New Zealand game, including Christian Cullen, Jeff Wilson and Taine Randell. I remember feeling a momentary pang of nervousness when I showed my squad selection to manger Andrew Martin, who was visibly shocked.

"There were two or three weekends still to go to the selection when I was appointed as the All Blacks coach. I remember watching Jeff Wilson and Taine Randell closely, and thinking that it wasn't right that Taine was playing as an opensider when he was best suited to the No.8 position. He liked to receive ball and was capable in the backline and on the edge, but he was more of a receiver than a player who played on to the ball. Jeff had become an All Black with me on my first tour; we had sat next to each other on the team bus, so it felt hard to leave him out.

"But, although he was extremely good at finishing, I felt he had lost the art of putting himself in position. It was like he was always in no-man's-land. This meant he was no longer an option, in my mind.

"Christian later claimed he was angry with me for not listing him as an injured player when I announced the squad.

"I was tense when I woke up early on the day of the selection announcement.

"I needed to be assertive, as I had recognised that I would have to create some casualties in order to change the culture. I made it clear that I was going to be putting an accent on performance, and not on individuals, which had become the dominant culture at the All Blacks at that point.

"When I was asked about Taine and whether I had communicated with him, I said that he knew my number and that my door was always open. That went viral, and the media made a massive fuss about it.

"But I didn't see how it was my responsibility to worry about the feelings and sensibilities of a player whom I had never coached. It wasn't my job to be compassionate about someone who hadn't been selected. There was just too much responsibility lumped on the coach, too much expected of him, I felt. But, at the same time, I am aware that I communicated my decisions in a substandard way, and I have no doubt that I could have done that better.

"It seems I will forever be blamed for prematurely ending Cullen's career, but I don't think people understand how much pace he had lost because of his knee injury."

By Jan de Koning

@King365ed

@mfactorcoaching

@RandomStruik

Mitch: The Real Story

ISBN: 9781770226159

RRP: ZAR230

For more info: www.randomstruik.co.za