Mitch: Nobody is right or wrong
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John Mitchell will readily admit there are certain aspects of his personality that can rub people up the wrong way, but he stands firm in his belief that he did nothing wrong during his stint with the Johannesburg-based Lions.
Having departed from Ellis Park under a cloud, in the wake of his much-publicised disciplinary hearing, Mitchell has given his replacement, Johan Ackermann, a vote of confidence.
However, he was a lot less complimentary about the officialdom and some players which resulted in his controversial exit from the employment of the Golden Lions Rugby Union.
He was also very scathing of the Guma Group owners, Robert Gumede and Ivor Ichikowitz, over their role in the administrative bungling that contributed to his less than pleasant stay – including a fallout between him and good friend John Plumtree over attempts to poach Sharks players.
Describing his hearing as "a mirror image of accusations I had faced at the Western Force", he admitted he paid a dear price despite being exonerated from all charges.
Mitchell, in his recently released autobiography, Mitch: The Real Story, said he has since spoken to various life coaches and identified his strengths.
He came to the realisation that among those are his strategic thinking, an achievement-orientated approach and a deeply ingrained sense of responsibility.
"While I have been on sabbatical, I have been trying to analyse why I have such conflict with so many people during my rugby career," he said, adding: "Nobody is right or wrong; there is no such thing as right or wrong. It is just about perception; people see things differently."
Speaking more specifically about the hearing, Mitchell described his exoneration as a "resounding" victory.
"Day one [of the hearing] was focused on 'profanities', which, like most of the other allegations brought against me, was a mirror image of accusations I had faced at the Western Force," Mitchell said in his book.
"Steadily, during the course of the hearing, more allegations were added to the list.
"From the initial six or seven, they grew to 28, and you could see that the chairman, although emotionless, was not impressed.
"As we suspected it would, the hearing went our way and I was found not guilty of the allegations."
Turning to his successor, Ackermann, Mitchell said he hoped the current administration at the GLRU maintained some of the processes and improved some of the processes he had put in place.
"They've had quite a turnover on their player-list," Mitchell told rugby365 in an exclusive interview, to expand on some of the issues in the book.
"They have brought some new energy and enthusiastic players. However, above them there are still the same people and the same structure and the same leadership.
"Hopefully people have changed their mindset and understand what it takes to sustain performance at the highest level of Super Rugby."
Having worked very closely with Ackermann, Mitchell said the current Lions coach has done an excellent job.
"Under the constraints that he has been placed he has done extremely well.
"The biggest test for Johan will be to add to the team going into the next level of competition, Super Rugby next year. The challenge will be how he can improve them defensively and how he can improve them tactically.
"The best bet for that is continuity in terms of player resources."
While a good number of players from the Mitchell are have moved on, the Kiwi worked with some of the Lions' newest Springbok and Bok training squad members – such as Warren Whiteley and Jaco Kriel.
"The loose forwards are key for the way they play, because they are quicker than most of the other back rows and they are good on the floor as well.
"They scrum well and their scrum is a competency they focus on and a big strength of Akkers [Johan Ackerman].
"His technical detail and set-piece work are second to none."
By Jan de Koning
* Don't miss the third and final part of our exclusive interview with John Mitchell, when he speaks about the politics behind his departure from the All Blacks.
Mitch: The Real Story
ISBN: 9781770226159
RRP: ZAR230
For more info: www.randomstruik.co.za
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