Former All Blacks coach John Mitchell was stabbed by intruders who broke into his apartment in South Africa at the weekend, but he was not seriously wounded, his club the Golden Lions said yesterday.
Two men broke into a Johannesburg apartment Mitchell was sharing with fellow New Zealander Wayne Taylor on Saturday night and one of them stabbed the 46-year-old during a struggle, Lions spokeswoman Krystal Geach said.
“He thought Wayne was playing a joke on him, so he actually jumped on the person, but it was actually one of the intruders,” Geach told the NZPA news agency.
Photo: AFP
The other one attacked Mitchell, stabbing him in the arm and leg, she said.
Mitchell was taken to hospital and released after receiving stitches, although he was shaken by the attack.
“He will be back to work tomorrow. He is really OK,” the spokeswoman said. “He’s left his family to come here and work in a country he’s loved for so long, so obviously he is very disappointed, but more shocked than anything else.”
Taylor was unharmed and the pair were now staying at a hotel, Geach said.
Mitchell has been contracted to coach the Johannesburg-based Lions in the Super 15 competition next year.
Officials of Mitchell’s former Australian Super 14 team, Western Force, were shocked upon hearing of his plight.
“We were absolutely shocked when we learned what happen to John in South Africa,” chief executive Vern Reid said in Perth. “We haven’t yet spoken to John directly as both his mobile phone and laptop was stolen, however, we have been in contact with his wife and manager. We understand that John will be back on his feet quickly and able to return to his duties with the Lions in the near future, which is a positive outcome.”
Mitchell was last month granted a release from the final year of his coaching contract at the Force to take up a three-year deal with the South African club.
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