Western Force coach John Mitchell will take up a consultancy role with the Lions for the 2010 Currie Cup competition in South Africa.

However, Mitchell will still see out his contract with the Force, which expires at the end of the 2011 Super 15 season.

Lions coach Dick Muir will be with the Springboks during the 2010 Tri-Nations in his capacity as backline coach, and will return to the Lions during the final four to six weeks of the Currie Cup.

During his absence Mitchell will head the coaching team and will work closely with Muir during the final weeks of the competition.

Mitchell will also spend time with Japanese club Toshiba in the coming months as part of an arrangement that allowed David Hill to join the Force in 2010 as an injury replacement for Andre Pretorius.

"John expressed his desire to use his accrued annual leave entitlements to further his coaching expertise and we have allowed him to undertake the role at the Lions with the understanding it will not impact negatively on the Western Force preparations for 2011," Force chief executive Vern Reid said.

"The Lions will give John an insight into another rugby program but he has always indicated that the Western Force is his number one priority and we are confident his impeccable standards in preparing our side will not be adversely affected."

Mitchell will join the Lions in the coming weeks and return to Australia for several stints throughout the Currie Cup to review the Super 14 preparations of Force players who are participating in rugby competitions in Sydney and Perth.

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