Drew Mitchell

Wing

Profile
Height:	182cm
Weight:	92kg
Date Of Birth:	26/03/1984
Place of Birth:	Liverpool NSW

Rugby Career
Senior Club:	Balmain

Stats
Provincial Rugby Caps:	115 [Queensland 37, WA 38, NSW 40]
Provincial Rugby Points:	180 (36t), [Queensland 50 (10t), WA 45 (9t), NSW 85 (17t)]
Provincial Rugby Debut:	2004 v Highlanders [Queensland]
Super Rugby Caps:	112 [Reds 35, Force 38, HSBC Waratahs 39]
Super Rugby Points:	175 (35t), [Reds 45 (9t), Force 45 (9t), HSBC Waratahs 85 (17t)]
Super Rugby Debut:	2005 v Highlanders [Queensland Reds]
Test Rugby Caps:	63
Test Rugby Points:	150 (30t)
Test Rugby Debut:	2005 v South Africa

One of the most prolific try scorers in Super Rugby history, Drew Mitchell completed his Super Rugby century when he took to the field in the HSBC Waratahs’ final match of the 2012 season. Still only 28, the winger has achieved this milestone and added a further three Test caps during Australia's 2012 Spring Tour, in the face of a constant battle over ankle and leg injuries that have, at times, threatened the future of his playing career.

Mitchell made his NSW debut in 2010 against his former Queensland team mates. In July 2012, he played his 100th game against the same opposition, when he represented the HSBC Waratahs for the 27th time, having already played for the Reds (on 37 occasions, including 35 Super Rugby matches) and the Force (38 times) earlier in his career.

In his first season in NSW, Mitchell became the state’s first player to score four tries in a Super Rugby match (against the Lions) before going on to finish as the competition’s top try scorer. A strong international season followed, highlighted by the winger earning his 50th Test cap and another outstanding season looked set to follow until injury struck. A horrific ankle dislocation suffered during the 2011 Super Rugby clash against the Queensland Reds in Brisbane robbed him of any further involvement at state or international level, preventing him from playing a part in the HSBC Waratahs Super Rugby finals campaign and Australia’s first Tri Nations title for a decade. Intense rehabilitation saw him make it back in the nick of time to make his second Rugby World Cup, however he managed just three appearances before injuring his hamstring during the 68-22 pool stage win over the tournament newcomers Russia at Nelson.

Complications from the earlier ankle injury saw him start the new 2012 season the way he finished the last – on the sidelines. After a 12-month absence, Mitchell donned the sky blue again in the HSBC Waratahs’ round 15 match against the Cheetahs, featuring in all three of the team’s remaining matches of the season and earning a place in the Wallabies’ opening match of The Rugby Championship, only to be forced from the field through injury.

When fit, it is not hard to see why Mitchell is such an asset to any team; he boasts the abilities of a great winger with speed, power, agility and flare combined with a rare finishing ability that has already seen him earn a place in the HSBC Waratahs’ top ten tryscorers in Super Rugby history.

As a youngster, it was that talent that saw Mitchell’s rapid rise through the rugby ranks. A pupil at renowned sporting school St Patrick's College, Shorncliffe, he played a season of junior rugby for the Pine Rivers club. He now plays for the Balmain club.

Winner of Australian Rugby’s Rookie of the Year award, he captained the Queensland Academy of Sport’s Under-19s team and led the Australian Schoolboys squad that toured the UK in 2001 and the Australian Under-21 side that competed in the 2004 IRB Junior World Championship.

After making his Super Rugby for the Queensland Reds in 2004, he was fast tracked into the Wallabies a year later, scoring a try on his Test debut against South Africa. He has appeared for three of the five Australian provinces in Super Rugby, following his Queensland stint with three seasons in Perth at the Western Force, before moving to NSW in 2010, scoring nine tries in his debut season.

One of Australia’s highest profile players, Mitchell has become a regular on TV, often joining Fox Sports’ rugby commentary team for Super Rugby matches and guesting on the Rugby Club’s weekly panel. Following the arrival of his Wallabies team mate Adam Ashley-Cooper in Sydney at the start of the 2012 season, the two became housemates as well and team mates, and now share a place in the popular suburb of Coogee.

Brought up in an Army family, Mitchell's father and grandfather served in the Armed Forces and he is the only one of three brothers not to follow in their footsteps. Beyond rugby, Mitchell takes an active interest in music and enjoys eating out. When his playing days are over, he intends to stay in rugby and hopes to pursue a career in the media.

Updated June 17, 2013