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| | Wednesday, 3 October, 2001, 04:17 GMT 05:17 UK Mitchell named new All Blacks coach  Mitchell, 37, succeeds Wayne Smith Former England assistant coach John Mitchell has taken charge of the All Blacks. He was unveiled as Wayne Smith's successor by the New Zealand Rugby Football Union (NZRFU) on Wednesday. Smith resigned last month after being edged out by Australia in the Tri-Nations series.
He then changed his mind and said he wanted to take the All Blacks through to the 2003 World Cup. But the NZRFU opened the job up to applicants - with 22 lining up - before eventually plumping for Mitchell. The former All Black No 8 was forwards coach for England manager Clive Woodward, but quit to take up a coaching job with the Chiefs Super 12 franchise. One of Mitchell's first tasks will be to select a tour party for matches against Ireland in Dublin on 17 November, Scotland at Murrayfield on 24 November, and Argentina. Mitchell competed in six midweek games for the All Blacks during the 1993 tour of Britain, including three as captain.
"As an All Black, he epitomised many of the qualities that will be required of his players in the next two years if they are to win the Rugby World Cup." The new coach has the toughest and most high-profile job in rugby, and will have to improve the team's recent patchy form to keep his position. The All Blacks have won 12 games out of 17 under Smith in the past two years, but lost three out of four times to close rivals Australia. "We have a responsibility to win every game in an All Black jersey," Mitchell said. "I have a particular team profile in mind where I will contest and secure possession, and that's the bottom line." Mitchell answered the question of whether hooker Anton Oliver would remain captain, by saying: "Everything's up for grabs." There were 21 other applicants for the job, including former All Black captain Wayne Shelford, Canterbury Crusaders Super 12 coach Robbie Deans, Manu Samoa coach John Boe and current All Black assistant coach Tony Gilbert. No assistant coaches have been named yet. | | See also:  Internet links: The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites Other top Rugby Union stories:  Links to more Rugby Union stories are at the foot of the page. | |||||
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