The future of Stormers interim coach Robbie Fleck remains uncertain after he disclosed that he’d so far had no discussions to remove the word ‘interim’ from his title. Fleck’s team slumped to a huge 60-21 home defeat against the Chiefs in a Super Rugby quarterfinal last Saturday‚ which has brought his position under the microscope‚ although heads should roll at boardroom level long before his coaching career is decapitated. It was the Western Province Rugby Football Union (WPRFU) board that forced director of rugby Gert Smal to go with an inexperienced coach for the 2016 season.Not one member of the board’s dissenters can try and pin another season without meaningful silverware on a rookie coach and an inexperienced staff. To recap: The WPRFU had initially appointed Eddie Jones to coach the Stormers‚ but he took up a job with England within a week of being announced in Cape Town. It was an embarrassing situation for the union‚ and especially for Smal‚ as Jones left him with egg on his face just eight days after he’d been unveiled as the Stormers’ saviour. Moving quickly Smal then scrambled for an experienced candidate and after a short search‚ presented former All Black and Lions coach John Mitchell to the board. Mitchell started the Lions revival‚ which Johan Ackermann has brilliantly taken forward‚ and there was a feeling that he could do the same in Cape Town while guiding young coaches – Fleck among them – to take over in a few years. Mitchell is a tough character and he fell out with the GLRU management and several senior players.It led to a disciplinary hearing against him‚ where he was charged on 15 counts of misconduct. The hearing lasted five months and Mitchell was cleared on all counts.But a wedge between he‚ the players and the Lions management had been driven in too far‚ forcing the GLRU to pay him out. This is where it became tricky.The Lions were in a fragile financial state at the time and SA Rugby had to assist them in paying Mitchell off. So when he was being touted as the new Stormers boss‚ SA Rugby president Regan Hoskins and Golden Lions president Kevin de Klerk contacted WPRFU president Thelo Wakefield to warn them against Mitchell. That is not speculation – Hoskins phoned this writer to tell him that what’s happened. Here’s what Hoskins said last December: “When WP considered Mitchell for the Stormers coaching job‚ Kevin de Klerk and I both spoke to Thelo [Wakefield] and said that we strongly feel that they shouldn’t consider him‚ given the experience we had at the Lions.” Smal‚ who understood that an experienced coach was needed considering how young the bulk of the Stormers squad was‚ and also because they were trying to change their playing style‚ was overruled by Wakefield and the board. Fleck instead was parachuted in at the final hour to become the new coach and under the circumstances – of both his appointment and his lack of head coaching experience – did an admirable job. Winning the Africa 1 conference with 10 victories‚ one draw and only four losses was a decent return. Unfortunately what will be remembered most is the way the Stormers lost their play-off match against the Chiefs. The Cape side simply weren’t up to the standard of the New Zealanders. Perhaps if Mitchell had been at the helm‚ grooming Fleck this season‚ by the time the Stormers met an NZ side‚ they would have been better prepared.But it’s a moot point because we will never know. If anyone on the WPRFU board‚ who voted against Mitchell’s appointment‚ is now thinking of firing Fleck‚ they should first rethink their own positions. Fleck was thrust into the role after the board overruled their own director of rugby.If there is any firing or resigning to happen at WP over the issue of Stormers performances‚ it should start with Wakefield and his board. - TMG Digital..