Life goes on at Loftus with Mitchell departure imminent

Despite there still being no official confirmation, John Mitchell’s departure from the Bulls is a done deal.

And the players have made peace with that fact.

Unwittingly or not, flanker Ruan Steenkamp earlier this week let it slip that Mitchell “is on his way again”, while diplomatic Currie Cup skipper Hanro Liebenberg didn’t exactly deny his director of rugby’s plan to join England.

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“What I hear, is what you hear,” said the eighthman.

“To be honest, I think the media might hear about these things before I even do!

“Anyway, that’s how rugby goes. At the end of the day, a coach doesn’t determine my future, I determine my future. It’s about controlling what I can. We’ve had a chat about the uncertainty with (Currie Cup mentor) coach Pote (Human) and it’s all about us preparing to the best of our ability on a weekly basis. It’s about having his buy-in and nothing else.

“The speculation doesn’t really affect us. We have a job to do.”

A disappointing Super Rugby campaign – as well as Mitchell’s future – has obviously stalled the revolution at Loftus but a reasonably established blueprint and the “clean slate” under a new coach means the players are still in a positive frame of mind.

“We’re quite a young side and that makes things exciting. I think we’re going to be entertaining because there are quite a few guys who have a point to prove,” said Liebenberg.

Blue Bulls: Divan Rossouw, Jade Stighling, Johnny Kotze, JT Jackson, Jamba Ulengo, Manie Libbok, Andre Warner, Hanro Liebenberg (c), Thembelani Bholi, Ruan Steenkamp, Ruan Nortje, Ruben van Heerden, Conrad van Vuuren, Edgar Marutlulle, Matthys Basson. Bench: Jan-Henning Campher, Dayan van der Westhuizen, Hendre Stassen, Jano Venter, Theo Maree, Tony Jantjies, Earll Douwrie.

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