Nick Mallett

Nicholas Vivian Haward Mallett was born on 30 October 1956 in Hertford Heath, England. When he was six weeks old, his family moved to Rhodesia, where his father, Tony Mallett, taught English at Peterhouse Boys' School in Marandellas. In 1963, after his father became headmaster of Diocesan College, Nick arrived in Cape Town, South Africa. He later attended St. Andrew's College in Grahamstown and graduated from the University of Cape Town in 1977 with a BA in English and History. While at university, he was selected for the Western Province rugby team.

In 1979, Mallett returned to England to study at University College, Oxford, earning further qualifications and winning Blues in both rugby union and cricket. During a cricket match, he famously hit three sixes in one over off Ian Botham. He then went back to South Africa, where he helped Western Province win four consecutive Currie Cup titles from 1982 to 1985, and played two Tests for the Springboks in 1984 against the South American Jaguars.

Mallett left South Africa again in 1985 for France, where he played and coached rugby for seven years. He returned in 1994 to head the False Bay Rugby Club, then coached the Boland Cavaliers from 1995 to 1996. In 1996, he became assistant coach of the Springboks, and in 1997 he was appointed head coach.

As Springbok coach from August 1997 to December 1998, Mallett led the team to a record 17 consecutive Test wins. During that unbeaten run, South Africa won the Tri Nations Series undefeated and crushed opponents by record margins, including 52–10 against France in Paris, 68–10 against Scotland in Edinburgh, 33–0 against Ireland, and 96–13 against Wales. The streak ended with a loss to England at Twickenham on 5 December 1998.

Mallett’s relationship with captain Gary Teichmann, who had 36 wins, soured, and Teichmann was controversially left out of the 1999 Rugby World Cup squad. Mallett tried several captains—Corné Krige, Rassie Erasmus, Joost van der Westhuizen, and André Vos—but the team still managed four straight wins before losing in the semi-final to eventual champions Australia. Despite an 8–5 record in 1999, the Springboks set more records, beating Italy 101–0 and England 44–21 in the quarter-final, with Jannie de Beer kicking a world-record five drop goals.

In 2000, Mallett accused the South Africa Rugby Football Union of “greed” for selling Tri Nations tickets at inflated prices. This alienated the executive, and on 27 September, as a disciplinary hearing began into whether his comments brought the game into disrepute, he resigned. Some fans, upset over Teichmann’s treatment and the team’s sudden poor form, wanted him gone. Still, Mallett remains one of South Africa’s most successful coaches, winning 27 of 38 Tests and rewriting several records.

Mallett moved back to France in 2002 to coach Stade Français, leading the Paris club to back-to-back French domestic titles in 2003 and 2004. He then returned to South Africa as Director of Rugby at Western Province. Though speculation linked him to the Springbok job, Jake White was appointed instead. In 2006, Mallett was considered for the England coaching role after Andy Robinson’s resignation, but Brian Ashton got the position.

On 3 October 2007, Mallett replaced Pierre Berbizier as head coach of Italy. In his Six Nations debut, Italy lost narrowly to Ireland (11–16) and came close against England, then lost to Wales and France. He gave Andrea Marcato and Alberto Sgarbi their debuts. In the final match, Italy beat Scotland 23–20 thanks to Marcato’s late drop goal, but still won the wooden spoon due to a worse points difference. During summer Tests, Italy lost 0–26 to world champions South Africa in Cape Town but beat Argentina for the first time in Córdoba, with a try from Leonardo Ghiraldini and a late penalty by Marcato. Mallett also coached the Barbarians to a 25–18 win over the All Blacks in December 2009 and to a victory over South Africa in 2010. In the 2010 Six Nations, Italy beat Scotland 16–12, but that was their only win, and they finished last again on points difference.