John Mitchell
John Mitchell is having the last laugh after the former All Blacks coach guided the Lions to a 42-16 victory in the Currie Cup rugby final over the Sharks at Ellis Park.
Mitchell, who is into his second season as coach, admits many of his friends and colleagues had said to him: ‘what the hell are you doing?’ when he took on the job as coach about 16 months ago.
The Lions’ pride had indeed taken a fall over the past few seasons; to say they were a shadow of their former selves at the time Mitchell took the reins, would have been a serious understatement.
They were being hammered by their Currie Cup rivals and as new arrivals to the Super 14 last season, things were starting to look very bleak.
The Lions finished stone last in the Super 14, having lost all of their 13 games. There seemed to be no way out, until Mitchell answered the SOS.
Mitchell himself experienced the flip side that is South Africa at times, when his home was burgled a few months into his stay.
It could not have been a pleasant experience at all, even for the tough-as-teak Mitchell, as he was robbed at gunpoint.
Many South Africans applauded him for his stance, when Mitchell refused to buckle and give the criminals the benefit of the doubt by deciding to stay on to finish off some unfinished business, despite the experience.
That unfortunate incident probably made him focus even more on the task at hand, and it strengthened his resolve. When Mark Lawrence’s whistle had gone on in the cauldron that is Ellis Park, Mitchell had helped a team bereft of stars, to the ultimate prize in South African rugby competition – the Currie Cup.
And it was the manner of their win, that suggested that Mitchell, his support staff and his troops had achieved something special.
The Sharks, who were defending the trophy, were laden with Boks, among them Willem Alberts, Jannie du Plessis, brother Bismarck, and JP Pietersen, but the pride of the Lions withstood the onslaught.
When the Sharks’ Willem Alberts blatantly knocked the ball on his way to the tryline, with the Johannesburg side leading 19-9, Lions’ heads did not drop, neither did they wilt.
It only served to put extra bite in their game and they subsequently smashed the opposition to pieces as the final scoreline suggests.
Man-of-the-match, Elton Jantjies, the little flyhalf played the match of his life, notching up 24 points with his boot for the Lions.
It is clear to see that backline coach, Carlos Spencer, a former All Black No 10 himself, has added grunt to Jantjies’ game and there is little doubt that he will don the No 10 jersey for the Boks someday soon.
They were the most consistent performers in the competition and there is little doubt they deserve every accolade heaped upon them.
And to think he achieved the Currie Cup win, coming up against a fellow New Zealand native in John Plumtree, who was coaching the Sharks.
You just can’t seem to keep these New Zealanders, win or lose, out of the big moments in this great game, no matter where it is played these days.
