We were flatmates AND arch-rivals

ENGLAND DEFENCE COACH JOHN MITCHELL ON HIS COLOURFUL RELATIONSHIP WITH WARREN GATLAND

MANY years ago and thousands of miles away, John Mitchell realised that Warren Gatland had a sharp rugby mind and was a shrewd man-manager — but wasn’t cut out for laying drains.

England’s Kiwi defence guru will renew an old rivalry and fond acquaintance on Saturday when the national team face Wales in Cardiff.

The hosts’ head coach and former New Zealand hooker used to share a house with Mitchell, who was his provincial captain. Together, they famously helped Waikato thrash the Lions in 1993. But at club level they were frequent opponents who had to stay apart on the eve of matches against each other.

It is a quirk of sporting fate that the pair are preparing to lock horns again, on this side of the world. Mitchell, 54, said: ‘I was his captain. There were probably five schoolteachers — strong personalities — and he was one of them.

‘He was always very good. He had the ability to manage people very well. I remember him training as a teacher. He had to do some extra work to survive as a student but he gave up drain-laying after a day because of the blisters!

‘As a player, he was a very good thrower of the ball and an exceptional scrummager. He started as a No 8, which gives you an idea of his versatility — and he was a very good cricketer.’

There was a time when the two men shared lodgings in what Mitchell referred to as a ‘student house’, along with two other team-mates, one of whom would go on to be best man at Mitchell’s wedding. The evening before their teams went head to head, the two men would give each other a wide berth.

‘We were at opposite clubs, so when we played each other there was always competitive tension the night before — so one would leave the house for the night,’ said Mitchell (below). ‘I was the one who wanted my focus a bit earlier, so I would go to my girlfriend’s. ‘He played for Hamilton Old Boys and I played for Fraser Tech — we were arch-rivals. Then he shifted to a club called Taupiri just outside Hamilton and the rivalry continued. ‘We played together in an incredible Waikato team. It was an extraordinary group of people who went on to coaching for some reason. In those days, Waikato used to train in Cambridge, 30 or 40 miles away, so we would car pool. There were about six of us in the car. I was a quantity surveyor in those days.

‘I had an Austin Kimberley. It was a like an open lounge with a fire — it was that big! The guys seemed to enjoy it as there was plenty of room in it.’

Away from memory lane, Mitchell is full of admiration for what Gatland, 55, has gone on to achieve as a coach with Ireland, at Wasps, back in Hamilton with the Chiefs and over the last 11 years with Wales and the Lions.

‘He’s brave and he’s intelligent,’ said the man who has held several coaching roles in various countries since his time in charge of the All Blacks.

‘He’s had a very good schooling. He’s seen all sides of the game as a player and clearly he’s been a long-time coach, the majority of it successful. He’s had to basically grow a rugby nation. He’s done that well and he hasn’t accepted any limits, which gives you an idea as to the way he leads. He’s got a good way of motivating people. He’s a good bloke — funny as well.

‘He has been successful away from New Zealand as well as in New Zealand. To take the Lions there and earn an opportunity to win that series — that was huge. So, he is clearly smart and tactical about how he goes about things.

‘It was unfortunate that New Zealand played some games with him with the red-nose cartoon and stuff which wasn’t called for, but probably motivated him.’

Gatland certainly won’t need any additional motivation ahead of his final Six Nations game against England as Wales head coach. But the presence of his old housemate, team-mate and rival in the visitors’ coaching box will add an extra, personal dimension.