Mitchell heads off to England

The departure of John Mitchell from the Bulls was finally confirmed by the franchise yesterday, with the New Zealander taking up the position of defence coach with the England team.

The Blue Bulls Company issued a statement saying they had “come to a mutual agreement with Executive Rugby John Mitchell and the RFU” for his immediate release without providing any further details, but English newspaper The Guardian reported yesterday that compensation of £200 000 (just less than R4 million) had been paid.

The Bulls said the route forward and Mitchell’s successor would only be revealed “in due course”, but they obviously have to move quickly to obtain someone capable of lifting the franchise from the Super Rugby doldrums.

“We would like to humbly thank Mitch for his efforts over the last year. There is no doubt he has made an impact on our brand and we would like to wish him all of the best with his future endeavours,” CEO Barend van Graan said in the statement.

While the Bulls did play some dazzling rugby in the southern hemisphere competition, they still only won six games and finished last in the South African Conference. Their defence was clearly their weakest point as they conceded more tries than any other team apart from the Sunwolves.