England’s defence coach on
World Cup hopes, bouncing back from the low points and his colourful rugby journey
Every now and again John Mitchell bumps into players with whom he worked in his first stint with
England between 1997 and 2000. And every time he does so, after 25 years in elite coaching, the same thought occurs to him. “When I see Jason Leonard, Lawrence Dallaglio and Austin Healey I say to them: ‘Jeez, I wish I could coach you now with what I know.’ They just laugh.”
Few rugby people, Eddie Jones included, have had to navigate as many troughs and peaks as the well-travelled Mitchell. If last week’s Calcutta Cup defeat was a bad day at the office, the 56-year-old Kiwi has known plenty worse. When you have been hired and fired as the All Blacks’ head coach, experienced England’s 76-0 loss to Australia in 1998 and signed up for another two and a half years as England’s defence coach alongside the relentless Jones, you develop a keen sense of perspective.