1
John Mulvihill has left Cardiff with immediate effect - reports
By Online Editors
Cardiff Blues head coach John Mulvihill has reportedly left the struggling Welsh region with immediate effect. No official confirmation has yet to emerge from the club but it is understood that the Australian's three-year deal has ended six months before its expiry date.
The Blues have been off the pace in this season's Guinness PRO14, losing five of their last seven league games and six of their ten matches overall in that tournament.
That form has left Cardiff drifting in fourth place in Conference B with no chance of closing the gap to leaders Munster ahead of the revised March final which will precede the newly arranged Rainbow Cup which will see the Welsh, Irish, Scottish and Italian sides in action against the four South African Super Rugby teams.
In a report on WalesOnline, it is reported that Mulvihill has stepped aside following the New Year's Day derby loss to Ospreys and will be replaced on an interim basis by assistant Richard Hodges for this weekend's derby against the Scarlets.
Although described as the perfect fit on his arrival by CEO Richard Holland, the week's outcome for Mulvihill at Cardiff is no major surprise as the club have traditionally been a mid-table side and the Australian has been unable to break this pattern, the Blues losing more games than they won in his 2018/19 and 2019/20 campaigns (10/21 and 7/15).
Mulvihill was previously an assistant at Western Force before being recruited by Cardiff from the Japanese Top League following the departure of Danny Wilson to Scotland in 2018.
Wilson signed off with eleven wins in 21 league outings, a season that culminated in European Challenge Cup final success in Bilbao against Gloucester. Having initially worked with Gregor Townsend's Scotland set-up, Wilson is now the head coach at Glasgow.
Trending on RugbyPass
2
Jake White: As England coach, I’d have been livid
3
The winners and losers from the 2024 All Blacks XV
4
Argentina's Felipe Contepomi dimisses All Blacks' win over Ireland
5
Latest Comments
Well said except Argentina is most certainly not an “emerging nation” as far as rugby is concerned. If you’re making global-social-political claim, then I’m out of my depth entirely.
Argentina by multiple leagues of magnitude played better than Ireland today. Striking away a try in the 2nd minute did not necessarily lead to Arg demise, but as we all know, rugby is such an emotional game that then to be down 12-0 over nothing is gut-wrenching, especially as it was effectively a 19 point swing. Argentina’s fight back throughout the rest of the match was laudable.
A howl of great sadness for a beautiful sport that has criminal administrators, feckless refs, foppish TMOs, idiotic tv pundits, et al. attempting to collectively suicide the whole thing. No fault of the players or coaches necessarily. We have a situation where punitive cards that detract away from the essence and loftiness of the game itself are celebrated to a degree that is pathologically purblind. Rugby has created for itself a fetish for punishment rather than simply allowing the game to be played. Shameful.
Go to commentsAbsolutely right, can’t expect nearly an all kiwi officiating team to know the rules properly 😉
Go to comments