Former All Blacks and Western Force rugby coach John Mitchell is in "reasonably good spirits" after being stabbed during a home invasion in South Africa.

Armed intruders broke in to the 46-year-old's home on Sunday morning (AEST), tied him up and stabbed him in the arm and leg, Golden Lions officials said.

Earlier this year, New Zealand-born Mitchell left his home in Perth and moved to Johannesburg, taking up a coaching position with the Lions.

Mitchell shares his Hyde Park home with Lions conditioning coach, and fellow-Kiwi, Wayne Taylor.

He heard a commotion in the house on Saturday night and, thinking it was Taylor pulling a prank on him, jumped on one of the intruders.

Mitchell's Australian manager, John Fordham, told AAP he had spoken with his client on Monday afternoon (AEST) and he was "in reasonably good spirits considering what he went through".

"There are no plans for his family to join him immediately but he will see them soon on a previously-arranged vacation," Fordham said in a statement to AAP.

Police in South Africa said two men, armed with a knife and a gun, broke into the house after climbing over the boundary wall of the security complex.

"They entered the house through the kitchen open window - the window was slightly open," said Warrant Officer Moses Maphakela.

They went into Mitchell's room, police said.

"They demanded money.

"They tied him up with a rope at the hands and the feet.

"They stabbed him in the right thigh and on the back of the right hand."

He said Taylor, apparently asleep in another room, was woken by the ruckus, and managed to escape through a bathroom window and call police.

The men fled the house with an undisclosed amount of cash, mobile phones, an iPod, laptop computers and a digital camera, police said.

"We're still investigating. We're still looking for suspects," Maphakela said.

Mitchell was taken to Sandton Clinic where he received stitches to the wounds and was released on Sunday morning.

"We have moved Mitch and Wayne Taylor to temporary accommodation and we'll get them into something more permanent as soon as possible," Lions president Kevin de Klerk said.

Wallabies coach and former All Blacks fullback Robbie Deans, said he heard about the incident on Monday morning.

"I was horrified, to be honest, when I turned on the TV this morning and to read that," Deans said.

"That's not a good scene.

"It hits a bit too close to home when it starts happening to people that you know."

Police have taken a statement from Taylor and are waiting for Mitchell to recover before they hear his version of events.

Mitchell's former employers at the Western Force said they were shocked to hear of the news and had been in contact with his wife.

"Obviously John was pretty shaken up by the whole event and realistically I think he considers himself to be pretty lucky to have got out of that situation relatively lightly, albeit that he was stabbed in the thigh and arm," Force chief executive Vern Reid said.

Mitchell coached the All Blacks in 2002 and 2003 before being replaced by Graham Henry, and spent four years coaching the Western Force.

Brought to you by AAP © 2024 AAP