OWN CORRESPONDENT, Johannesburg | Friday 10.00am.
FORMER All Black coach Laurie Mains, infamous in South Africa for his claims that the New Zealand All Blacks were poisoned by a waitress ahead of their 15-13 loss to the Springboks in the 1995 World Cup final, on Thursday signed a three-year contract to coach the Golden Lions rugby side.
Mains, a former All Black fullback, will be the sixth coach to lead the embattled Lions in the past four years. Mains will follow in the steps of the late Kitch Christie, former All Black coach Alex Wyllie, Ray Mordt, Koos Ehlers, Dawie Snyman and stand-in Johan Roux, as well as a plethora of assistants who got the boot along with their coaches.
Mains left for New Zealand on Thursday night, and is expected to be back in Johannesburg in January to take over the coaching reins at the Golden Lions Rugby Union. A local assistant will be appointed for Mains within the next few weeks.
Apart from coaching the Lions, Mains will also be involved in in building a player base for the GLRU, especially at Under-21 and other junior levels.
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