WP force Mallett out

In a meeting of the Western Province Rugby board, convened on Friday to discuss former Springbok coach Nick Mallett’s position of Director of Rugby, it was decided that the role should include the responsibility of coaching the Stormers Super14 team.

WP Director of Rugby Pat Kühn confirmed the decision today.

Mallett stayed true to his intent never to coach in South Africa again by telling them to get stuffed. Well, what he officially said was: “I respect the decision of the Board, but given my position of not wanting to coach in South Africa, I will not be applying for the position.”

The Board of WP Rugby and the Western Province Rugby Union have lost faith in Mallett in his current role and they wanted either to harness his coaching skills or get rid of him completely. They surely knew about his unwillingness to coach the Stormers, so found an effective way of forcing him out.

He will see out his contract, which expires in December, but will not have anything further to do with Western Province thereafter.

The position will be advertised – with Rassie Erasmus the front-runner to take on the job which seems ideal for the current Bok analyst.

Mallett won’t be short of job offers, as he is in huge demand as a coach overseas. As coach of the Springboks, Mallett presided over the longest winning streak in their history in 1997/8, including victory in the Tri Nations series.

He is especially well regarded in France where he led Stade Francais to two consecutive league titles in 2003/4, and where he has also been linked to the position of head coach of the French national team after the World Cup.