Based on the reply from Fajar I came up with this as my rc.local:

# MySQL startup
if [ -x /usr/local/bin/mysqld_safe ]; then
        /usr/local/bin/mysqld_safe --user=_mysql &
        echo -n ' mysqld '
fi

# Wait for the NAS table to come online - otherwise freeradius bombs!!
while ! /usr/local/bin/mysql -uradius -pradpass -e "select * from nas;" radius | grep nasname
do
         sleep 1
done

# Freeradius startup
if [ -x /usr/local/sbin/radiusd ]; then
        install -d -o _freeradius /var/run/radiusd
        echo -n ' radiusd ';     /usr/local/sbin/radiusd
fi

echo '.'

I would have thought that a simple option in freeradius that allows it to wait for mysql to startup would be nice. Am I missing something obvious here? Is there a REAL solution or does freeradius not actually work with mysql properly due to the fact its too quick to abandon it during bootup??

JD