Back in his heart-land
Often polarising but never dull, John Mitchell returns to Hamilton this week in his new role with the Bulls. Aaron Goile catches up with the much-travelled former All Blacks coach.
Older, wiser, calmer, and less cluttered. This is the newly-refined John Mitchell, on a fleeting visit back home to Hamilton this week, in his new role with the Bulls Super Rugby side.
Back in the competition for the first time in six years – in a dual role as the the club’s coach and Executive of Rugby – the former Waikato centurion has had the chance for a quick catchup with family, and will on Friday night make a sentimental return in charge of his team against the Chiefs at FMG Stadium Waikato.
‘‘The old stand still brings out memories, that’s where we used to tear out of, full of emotion in the red, yellow and black hoops,’’ Mitchell says, perched across the table in a boardroom at the team hotel.
Mitchell’s season guiding the Chiefs in 2001 saw the team play away from Hamilton because of the construction of the new stadium, but he did park up there when leading Waikato in 2004-05. This will be his first time in a coaching box there since 2009 with the Western Force.
‘‘It’s always easy to come back to a place that you’re familiar with,’’ he said. ‘‘It’s been a long time as well, I haven’t lived here for pretty close to 13 years, so a lot changes in that period as well.’’
It sure does for a man who’s been through rather tumultuous periods in Super Rugby at the Force (2006-10) and the Lions (2011-12), where player unrest was a common theme, and points for those seasons were not flash.
But the 53-year-old says it’s made him stronger.
‘‘I took on some challenges that were very difficult, in a sense, and I’m not sure some other coaches would have taken on those challenges, based on the standings of those teams and the talent that existed in those teams at the time,’’ he said.
‘‘I’ve never been afraid of taking on those challenges. There were some circumstances that were out of my control as well. But at the end of the day I was part of the process as well so I had to go away and learn why I didn’t fit. And that’s important, because I wouldn’t be in this position now if I hadn’t.’’
A bit like how he found himself following his sacking as All Blacks coach after that 2003 semifinal defeat to Australia.
Mitchell was whisked into the national job one year into his three-year deal at the Chiefs and achieved fine results before that World Cup meltdown, but was forced to look at his operation because of how things didn’t work out.
‘‘When you look back, it was probably better that I’d done three years [at the Chiefs], but you never turn down the opportunity of coaching your country,’’ he said.
‘‘I don’t think you’d ever have regrets. At the end of the day, you chose coaching as a career, so you’ve got to realise that it’s going to have its ups and downs.
‘‘I think the younger you are you’re probably a little bit more outcome-focused, but the older you get and because you understand your process, then you focus on that. The student or the athlete, some pick it up quickly, some don’t pick it up so quickly, and it’s a matter of being patient.
‘‘And in many ways the older you get as well you’ve got to find ways to have fun. And you find out it’s actually really not about you. It’s ultimately about making sure that you’re mentoring and guiding young men, giving them a better chance to be a better rugby player to sustain this level because they have to put food on the table. And also mentor them through life, because everyone perceives that they’ve got a great lifestyle, but they go through personal challenges like anyone else in life as well.’’
Mitchell has always had the reputation of subscribing to quirky philosophies – and the label ‘‘Mitch-speak’’ has often been applied. But self-help books and consuming theories from the likes of Phil Jackson and Sir Alex Ferguson are now things of the past.
‘‘I tried all that stuff when I was younger... but now it’s more really coming up with an applied model, really, that’s what I’ve been doing since 2012,’’ he said.
‘‘Clearly when you’re in a position with some of the teams I have been involved in, people create perceptions. And I guess there’s a lot of misinterpretation. People are entitled to those opinions, but ultimately I know who I am and what I do and how I go about it, and I’m happy with that.’’
Mitchell said a lot of his coaching used to focus more on the ‘‘art’’, as there was less science in the game than there is now, but something he’s had to learn to do, for instance, is have a good relationship with the strength and conditioning coach to come up with a model as to how the team want to play the game.
‘‘That was probably the biggest change,’’ he said. ‘‘And then the fact of just being yourself. You can’t be somebody else.
‘‘If you don’t know who you are now, and how to work with people, then you certainly won’t last in this trade. There’s a lot of good 40-year-old coaches out there, who have come out of the game as it’s evolved, and us 50-year-old coaches we’ve had to go away and learn and get better. And if we do not challenge ourselves in that area then we’ll end up out of the game quickly.’’
For the last two years Mitchell took on the coaching role of the USA team, commuting from his Durban home for five weeks, three times a year.
Results were mixed, though he did manage to qualify them for the World Cup for the first time, and he said it was a great opportunity to be able to develop a programme and trial a few things.
But the new CEO needed to save money and he exited halfway through his contract. The Bulls job gave him an outlet.
‘‘The timing was right, and I thought I was ready to get back at this level and give it a crack,’’ he said.
It’s a role – which he’s contracted to till the end of 2019 – which sees him work hand-inhand with the Bulls’ highperformance manager to run the club’s entire elite programme, and is unique in that both those positions also roles on the board.
‘‘It’s actually really enjoyable to be able to sit on the board and actually communicate effectively about not just performance but how we continue to support the programme and strategically where we want to head to as an organisation,’’ said Mitchell, who still lives in Durban post-season.
He’s now looking to turn around a franchise which, after winning titles in 2007, 2009 and 2010, have finished a disappointing ninth on the last three years.
‘‘It’s a team effort, we have to turn it around. Clearly, we know where we want to head to and we know what we want to do, it’s just the timeline, we don’t know how long it’ll take,’’ Mitchell said, adding that the big challenge is keeping the core group together in the face of bids from Britain, France and Japan.
Brother Marty McKenzie appeared an option at fullback, having recovered from the concussion sustained against the Crusaders, though the older sibling has been named on the bench.
Solomon Alaimalo could have also moved from the wing to a fullback spot with which he’s familiar, with wingers Toni Pulu and Levi Aumua now off the ‘unavailable for selection’ list.
However, assistant coach Neil Barnes said that duo still weren’t ready to be risked, and another week off would be better for them longer-term.
In terms of Damian McKenzie, it will leave a few on tenterhooks, as the All Blacks look to get their backup to Beauden Barrett sorted. Lima Sopoaga is off at season’s end, while Richie Mo’unga is currently out with a broken jaw.
But if anyone would be anxious about it, Barnes said it wouldn’t be the man himself.
‘‘I don’t think it’s frustrating for him at all. It’s a long season, and he’ll get his opportunities, obviously when the other boys come back.’’
And the Chiefs’ luck with injuries doesn’t seem to have got much better, with Taleni Seu - who has this year made a shift to No 8 - left out with a thigh problem.
His absence sees Liam Messam move from blindside flanker to the back of the scrum, with Lachlan Boshier promoted to start at No 6.
Lock Brodie Retallick returns after a poke in the eye at training ruled him out of the Blues game, while after prop Nepo Laulala broke his arm at Eden Park, Angus Ta’avao starts at tighthead prop, with Bay of Plenty’s Jeff Thwaites set for a debut from the reserves.
"The older you get as well you've got to find ways to have fun. And you find out it's actually really not about you."
John Mitchell