Comment: Lions treat Force with contempt
The John Mitchell coaching debacle has thrown yet another cloud over his relationship with the Western Force.
It has also sent a feeling of unease through the Force camp, its players, supporters and sponsors.
The Johannesburg-based Golden Lions have been making bold statements about wanting Mitchell to lead them into the new era of Super rugby next year.
Lions president Kevin de Klerk was happy to tell the world they were negotiating with Mitchell, who is coaching their Currie Cup side while on leave from the Force.
Just only one small problem with that of course - Mitchell still has a year to run on his Western Force contract.
But even that did not deter the Lions.
Their chief executive, Manie Reyneke, told The West Australian they would ask the Force to release the former All Black coach from that contract.
"It would be to our advantage, and to his," Reyneke boasted.
The Golden Lions are treating the Force with contempt. They have ignored the club, which is still waiting for an explanatory note or call from Johannesburg.
And now they are greeting questions about their intentions with a stony silence.
"Plse (sic) note, the Golden Lions Rugby Union will not answer any questions about John Mitchell going forward, if you have questions plse (sic) direct them to John Fordham (Mitchell's manager) at the Fordham company," they said in a statement to The West Australian.
Fordham and Mitchell insist that all talks have been informal - while at the same time Fordham said there was no question that the door would be open for further discussions.
So where does reality lie? The line between "informal" and "formal" talks is a very hazy one.
Mitchell has always said he would honour his contact, but a coach and his players need mutual respect.
The Force must not again be put in a situation where they have to broker a working relationship between coach and players as they did after the 2009 inquiry into Mitchell's coaching.
It must not become a long-running saga, dragging on until one side cracks. Certainly the Force have the upper hand over the Lions - they have a contract - and have no intention of getting rid of the coach, if for no other reason than it would cost them a tidy sum.
Speculation was rife in March when Mitchell confirmed what came as no surprise to many - that he would be leaving the Force at the end of 2011 season.
It gathered strength two months later when, in Johannesburg on the Force tour of South Africa, Mitchell confirmed that he had had informal talks with the Lions about the Currie Cup position.
To silence the speculation once and for all, Mitchell must come out and state categorically that he has no intention or interest in coaching the Lions in Super rugby next year.
Transparency is a much overused word in sporting circles. Transparency is exactly what is needed here.
