
Former Springbok Coach, Top SuperSport Analyst, Dynamic Inspirational Speaker, Peak Performance, Self-Motivation, Tough Times and Leadership
Tri-Nations-winning former Springbok coach and Italian coach. He has been a Supersport rugby analyst since 2012. Nick won an SAB TV award when he was voted the best sports analyst on TV in 2013.
Nick has been the Coaches’ representative on the World Rugby Committee since 2012. The Rugby committee discusses the laws of the game and advises the Executive World Rugby committee on proposed changes that can help improve the game of rugby union.
He is also Accenture’s ‘rugby consultant’ during the 6 Nations tournament, helping them make sense of all the data they produce during the competition. Accenture are the official data sponsor for the RBS 6 Nations tournament.
Nick was born at Haileybury, England. He moved to Rhodesia with his family in 1956 when he was only six weeks old. He first arrived in Cape Town, South Africa in 1963, when his father Anthony Mallett was appointed Headmaster of Diocesan College, after which he attended St. Andrew’s College in Grahamstown. He later graduated from the University of Cape Town in 1977. While a student at the university, he was selected to play for the Western Province rugby union team.
In 1979 Nick moved back to England to attend Oxford University (University College), where he not only gained further qualifications but also won Blues in rugby union and cricket, famously hitting three sixes in one over off Ian Botham. Eventually he returned to South Africa, where he represented Western Province in four consecutive Currie Cup wins between 1982 and 1985, and played two games for the Springboks in 1984 against the South American Jaguars.
Nick once again left South Africa in 1985, this time for France, where he played and coached rugby for seven years until 1992 before eventually returning to South Africa in 1994 and taking a job as Head of the False Bay Rugby Club until 1995.
Between 1995 and 1996, Nick took up the role of head coach of the Boland Cavaliers before being appointed assistant coach to the Springboks in 1996 and finally getting the job of Springbok Coach in 1997.
Between August 1997 and December 1998, under Nick’s guidance, the Springboks went on a record winning streak of 17 consecutive test wins.
Nick moved back to France as coach for the Paris club Stade Français, which he led to two consecutive French domestic title wins in 2003 and 2004 before returning to South Africa where he accepted the job of Director of Rugby at Western Province. Initially there was speculation that he might coach the Springbok team again, but those rumours were quashed by the appointment of Jake White as the new South African coach.
Nick remains one of South Africa’s most successful coaches ever, having won 27 of the 38 tests played under his guidance and rewriting the record books several times.
He replaced Pierre Berbizier as the Italian national rugby coach on 3 October 2007. He also coached the Barbarians against the All Blacks in December 2009 with the ‘Baa- Baas’ winning 25–18. In 2010 Nick coached the Barbarians to victory over South Africa. In the 2010 Six Nations he led Italy to a win against Scotland, by 16–12. In the 2011 Six Nations Championship Italy beat France by 22-21 in arguably their best victory to date.
In 2011, after the World Cup in New Zealand, Nick’s contract as head coach of Italy expired and he returned to Cape Town with Frenchman Jacques Brunel taking over the Italy job.