John Mitchell opens up on England departure

Wasps coach John Mitchell insists that an alleged rift with Eddie Jones did not lead to him leaving his job as England’s defence guru.

The Times reported earlier this year that an argument with Jones over whether Mitchell could watch his son, Daryl, play for New Zealand in cricket was the tipping point in his abrupt departure.

That, according to the ex-All Blacks boss, was not the case and the 57-year-old stated that he struggled in the Red Rose bubble and wanted to find a better work-life balance.

An easy decision

“I woke up one day in April, having been thinking about it for a month at least, and just thought, ‘at the end of the day I’ve got to make sure I live by what I value the most’,” he told reporters.

“I thought it’s time to make the right decision. It was an easy decision actually in the end. I had a normal chat and at the end said: ‘Eddie, I’m done, mate, thanks very much. You have now got the opportunity to find someone else. You have got two years to do that’.

“I think at 57 years of age I value things differently in my life, and just made a decision that I felt that I wanted to get out of international rugby at that point. And you’re sick of the bubbles, sick of the time away from home and I wanted to look at returning to club rugby.

“It’s amazing the older you get you are certainly less ambitious for yourself. You learn in this game to take the good with the bad.”

Mitchell insists that he has a “very good relationship” with Jones and will continue to be in contact with the England head coach as the Australian prepares for the Six Nations.

“Eddie texts me and we have chats. I invited him around to my home for a meal when Hiroko’s (Jones’ wife) been away. That will continue. Eddie has a selection process with his assistant coaches and I’m sure there will be a visit before the Six Nations,” he said.

By resigning from his role as England defence coach, Mitchell misses out on the opportunity of going to another World Cup.

Winning the global tournament is the ultimate goal for many in the game, but the New Zealander insists that his priorities have changed.

“If a gold medal was important to me and a World Cup, if that was my main priority, then maybe my decision would be different, but I value life more than just winning a World Cup,” he added.

“My life has been exposed before in not winning a World Cup so I know exactly what that’s like. I’m certainly not going to put myself in that situation again.”