Brayden Mitchell (born 21 January 1989) is a

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

footballer. He plays as a hooker for Southland in the

Mitre 10 Cup The mitre (Commonwealth English) or miter (American English; see spelling differences; both pronounced ; ) is a type of headgear now known as the traditional, ceremonial headdress of bishops and certain abbots in traditional Christianity. Mi ...

Playing career

Provincial Rugby

Mitchell, a product of the Southland academy system, made his debut for the Stags during the

2009 Air New Zealand Cup The 2009 Air New Zealand Cup was the 33rd provincial rugby union competition, the fourth since the competition's reconstruction in 2006, involving the top 14 provincial unions in New Zealand. It ran for 15 weeks from 30 July to 7 November. It was ...

, and served as backup to Jason Rutledge after David Hall suffered a season-ending knee injury. He continued to apprentice behind Rutledge in the 2010 ITM Cup. Mitchell transferred to

Waikato The Waikato () is a region of the upper North Island of New Zealand. It covers the Waikato District, Waipā District, Matamata-Piako District, South Waikato District and Hamilton City, as well as Hauraki, Coromandel Peninsula, the nort ...

for the 2014 ITM Cup but moved back to Southland for

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

. A serious neck injury forced Mitchell to miss the entire

2018 Mitre 10 Cup The 2018 Mitre 10 Cup season was the thirteenth season of New Zealand's provincial rugby union competition since it turned professional in 2006. The regular season began on August 16, when North Harbour (National Provincial Championship), North ...

season.

Super Rugby

Mitchell was selected to the Highlanders squad for the

2011 Super Rugby season The 2011 Super Rugby season was the first season of the new 15-team format for the Super Rugby competition, which involved teams from Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. Including its past iterations as Super 12 and Super 14, this was the 16t ...

, where he served as the team's 3rd choice hooker behind Jason Rutledge and Mahonri Schwalger and made 4 substitute appearances. He continued as the Highlanders 3rd choice hooker through 2014 before transferring to the

Hurricanes A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system with a low-pressure area, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depending on its locat ...

for

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

, where he was a squad regular making 11 substitute appearances. For

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

, Mitchell signed with the Chiefs.

International Play

Mitchell was a member of the 2009 New Zealand Under 20's who won the IRB Junior World Championship, and scored a try in the final against

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

after a brilliant pass from Stags teammate Alex Ryan.

External links

Highlanders Profile

New Zealand Under 20 Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mitchell, Brayden 1989 births Living people New Zealand rugby union players Rugby union hookers Highlanders (rugby union) players Southland rugby union players Waikato rugby union players Hurricanes (rugby union) players Rugby union players from Invercargill People educated at Southland Boys' High School Chiefs (Super Rugby) players 21st-century New Zealand sportsmen