I was tied up with mobile phone wire and stabbed while waking up, says England coach as he reveals shock attack
FORMER England rugby coach John Mitchell has revealed he was tied up with a mobile phone before being stabbed in a shock attack.
The New Zealander, 61, was part of Eddie Jones’ backroom set-up for England’s run to the 2019 World Cup final.
Mitchell himself was a former back rower who played six times for the All Blacks — albeit not at test level.
But since retiring in 1995, he’s gone on to become one of the top coaches in rugby.
Mitchell has worked with England, New Zealand, Ireland, Japan and the United States at international level.
While his club career saw him enjoy spells with Sale Sharks and London Wasps.
Now, Mitchell is in charge of England Women and recently helped them to a Six Nations Grand Slam title.
The ace is hoping that can inspire his players to lift the Women’s World Cup later this year.
He himself almost came close to the Men’s World Cup in 2003 with his native New Zealand.
But they were dumped out in the semis by Australia, who went on to lose to England.
And while reflecting on how the exit haunted him, Mitchell then revealed a terrifying attack that took place in South Africa during him time with club side Lions, who he coached between 2011 and 2012.
Mitchell told Coaching Culture with Ben Herring: “I did chase it (the desire to be a winner).
“I got a taste of it early, wanted more of it, and then after the (2003) World Cup semi-final, rightly or wrongly I was pretty hard on myself for four years.
“I chased outcomes and didn’t have consistent process or methodology that was going to allow me to consistently present the teams opportunities to win.
“The falling into the ‘outcome bubble’, once I got attacked in South Africa, the challenge that evening, waking up from that was, ‘Hold on, I need to sort some things out here’.
“I promised myself that I would never fall into that mindset again, so now it’s basically enjoy it.
“I started coaching the Lions and myself and the strength and conditioning coach, Wayne Taylor, we were in a place in Hyde Park, which is quite a good area in Sandton, and we just left ourselves exposed because one of the windows was open and they jumped in.
“They basically got us two in the morning in my sleep. I basically thought it might have been Wayne playing a practical joke, and then I was tied up with mobile phone wire and curtain cord wire and stabbed in the process of waking up.
“It seemed like an eternity but I managed to negotiate my way out of it and I was very fortunate. So from that point onwards, I thought I needed to change a bit.”