EXCLUSIVE: John Mitchell set to be named Bulls saviour

The Bulls, for once this season, seem to have played above themselves.

The Citizen has been reliably informed former All Black and Lions coach John Mitchell is set to be named as their new coach at Loftus Versfeld on Thursday night.

The 53-year-old Mitchell is currently the coach of the USA national team and enjoyed a 86% success rate as coach of the All Blacks between 2001 and 2003.

It’s understood his contract will commence in July once he ensures he has steered the USA team to a place in the World Cup and will take charge from the Currie Cup onwards.

He has been credited by many people as being behind the resurgence of the Lions, turning their fortunes around while he was based at Ellis Park between 2010 and 2012.

While Mitchell has a thorough understanding of running rugby, he is, above all, an uncompromising coach who will insist on the highest standards at Loftus Versfeld.

He will have literally commanded top dollar, something the Bulls have not been willing to spend in recent years.

While a talent-laden Bulls playing squad will certainly get a shake-up, Mitchell is unlikely to have agreed to take up the head coach position without also having a major say in the structures around him.

One sticking point is Xander Janse van Rensburg, the union’s High Performance Manager who has little rugby pedigree and top-level experience, but who has been acting as a de facto Director of Rugby.

That will probably not sit well with Mitchell.

What becomes of the axed Nollis Marais will also only become clear on Thursday night, but it is likely he will remain employed by the franchise somewhere lower down the coaching chain.

Earlier this month, the Bulls stated they were instituting a turnaround plan, saying: “We acknowledge weaknesses that have been exposed in our system, including on the field of play, reflecting in our results and the performance of the team. We have to change and improve.”

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