New Zealand are set to decide the fate of their coach John Mitchell on Thursday after making Clive Woodward's former assistant reapply for his job following the All Blacks' failure to win the World Cup.

Mitchell has been challenged by the former Wales and Lions coach Graham Henry who was interviewed for the position yesterday. That came after Mitchell had spent five hours giving a review of the year with particular emphasis on the World Cup in which, for the second tournament running, New Zealand were knocked out at the semi-final stage.

Mitchell was having his job interview today before the three-man panel set up to recommend a coach to the New Zealand Rugby Union board meets on Thursday to discuss the issue.

"The matter will not necessarily be decided on Thursday but we want to sort it out as quickly as possible," said the NZRU chief executive Chris Moller. "As well as interviewing the two candidates and taking into account all their past history, which in one case involves England and in the other Wales and the Lions, we have taken feedback from all those with a direct interest in the All Blacks, including players, sponsors and supporters."

Mitchell was criticised for his detached public image since taking charge of the All Blacks two years ago and the decision to advertise the position was based not so much on his track record - he has lost four times in 28 matches - but the fear that supporters and sponsors felt cold-shouldered.

Mitchell has mounted a charm offensive since his return from Australia, opening the doors to the media where before they had been firmly shut, and he has even accepted a recommendation that the coach be answerable in future to a team manager who would provide the link between the squad and the board.

It was the system which prevailed before Mitchell's arrival but the then manager Andrew Martin, who now lives in York, was frozen out and lasted less than a year before he was replaced. Martin finds Mitchell's volte-face over the manager issue extraordinary.

"He is now saying he can work with the system he was responsible for dismantling and that shows how desperate he is to hold on to his job," he remarked. "I was handicapped by John Mitchell when he took over; he took total control and his public persona has harmed the team's image."

Martin stopped short of recommending Henry, saying that the process adopted by the NZRU would result in the right man being appointed, but the bookies have made Henry, who left Auckland in 1999 to coach Wales and then the Lions before returning home less than four years later, the clear favourite.

Friends of Mitchell launched a smear campaign against Henry earlier this month, earning a rebuke from Moller. But Henry, uncharacteristically, has maintained his silence while his rival, equally unusually, has been talkative.

Even if he were to retain his position, Mitchell, who has pointed out that England would probably not have won the World Cup had they listened to calls to sack Woodward as coach after the 1999 tournament, has been humiliated in the eyes of the public and would not be able to wield the same authority again.