Former All Blacks coach John Mitchell was stabbed by intruders who broke into his apartment in South Africa at the weekend but was not seriously wounded, his club the Golden Lions said today. 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 New Zealands NZPA news agency. 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.
"Hes left his family to come here and work in a country hes 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 Johannesburg-based Lions in the Super 15 competition next year. Officials of Mitchells former Australian Super 14 team Western Force were shocked upon hearing of his plight. "We were absolutely shocked when we learnt what happen to John in South Africa," RugbyWA CEO Vern Reid said in Perth.