‘I’m in real trouble here, I could lose my life... I’m not ready to die right now’

JOHN MITCHELL has England dreaming of World Cup glory – nine years after coming close to losing his life in South Africa.

Mitchell is the Kiwi coach Eddie Jones hired to build a defence capable of keeping out the best teams. Five games into England’s campaign they have done just that. They have conceded just four tries, with Australia and New Zealand managing just one apiece.

“They definitely put teams under a lot of pressure defensively,” Springboks boss Rassie Erasmus said yesterday. “John Mitchell has got a lot to do with that.”

A repeat performance against South Africa on Saturday and Erasmus will know England have every chance of being crowned world champions for the first time since 2003.

Such a momentous achievement would complete some decade for Mitchell, given he was stabbed twice during a break-in at his house in Johannesburg in 2010 while employed as coach of the city’s Lions team. Mitchell, who was woken by two intruders, said: “It was a hell of a shock to the system. It was fight or flight. I was like ’man, I’m in trouble here. I could possibly lose my life.’ Out of that

came a fighting attitude. I thought ’I’m not ready to give in yet.’

“People asked why didn’t I have a gun or a taser? I didn’t have time for all that. I was very, very lucky.”

Up until a year ago he was still dealing with the aftereffects.

“I wouldn’t say I’ve entirely got my deep sleep back,” Mitchell said then. “I’m always aware of noises.”

What the incident did for the former All Blacks boss was to put rugby into perspective.

He talks of how it “sharpened him up big time,” enabling him to make “critical decisions on what I wanted to achieve and how I wanted to go about it.”

Prior to the attack he says he was hard on himself, a legacy of losing the New Zealand job after semifinal defeat, ironically to an Eddie Jonescoached Aussie side in 2003.

“I’d lost perspective because I was wanting to prove a point,” said the 55-year old.

“I wouldn’t say I’m now relaxed about everything but you don’t last if you don’t learn.”

Mitchell (above, with Courtney Lawes) has done such a good job that in June England extended his contract until 2021.

Not that he is looking beyond Saturday.

“Defence has been a common thread at World Cups over the years and it’s going to be important again on the weekend,” he said. “South Africa have been able to create pressure like no other team.

“But I’d say there is now another team that can create that pressure – and that is us.”