John Mitchell (rugby union)

John Mitchell

John Mitchell, coaching the Western Force
Full name	John Eric Paul Mitchell
Date of birth	(1964-03-23) 23 March 1964 (age 52)
Place of birth	Hawera, Taranaki, New Zealand
Height	1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)
Weight	108 kg (17 st 0 lb)
School	Francis Douglas Memorial College
Rugby union career
Playing career
Position	Flanker / Number 8 / Lock
Amateur clubs Years Club / team     1983–1984 1984–1995 King Country Fraser Tech
Professional / senior clubs Years Club / team Caps (points) 1990–1991 Garryowen
Provincial/State sides Years Club / team Caps (points) 1985–1995 Waikato 134 (335)
Coaching career Years Club / team     1994–1995 1996 1996–1999 1997–2000 1999–2000 2000 2000–2001 2001–2003 2004–2005 2006–2010 2010–2012 2011–2012 2012 2013–2014 2016– Fraser Tech Ireland (Forwards coach) Sale Sharks England (Forwards coach) London Wasps (Asst. coach) Waikato B Chiefs New Zealand Waikato Western Force Golden Lions Lions Sale Sharks (Director of Rugby) UKZN United States Correct as of 4 January 2016

John Eric Paul Mitchell (born 23 March 1964) is a New Zealand rugby union coach and former player. He is currently the head coach of the United States, after formerly coaching the All Blacks, English side Sale Sharks, and Super Rugby sides the Chiefs, Lions and Western Force.

Born 23 March 1964 in Hawera, New Zealand, Mitchell was a pupil at Francis Douglas Memorial College in New Plymouth when he made the first XV; he was a member of the NZ secondary schools basketball team from 1981–83. He represented NZ Juniors in basketball in 1982–83, but then decided to concentrate on rugby. From here, he earned a place at King Country RFU aged 19 before playing for Fraser-Tech from 1984. He was soon selected provincially for the Waikato Colts.

He made his Waikato senior debut in 1985 and played at number eight, blindside flanker and lock before he became firmly established at number eight. Equal top scorer in first division rugby in 1989–90, he thus scored more tries over these seasons than any other NZ first division player.

Mitchell was given the Waikato captaincy in 1989. In 1990, because of a broken leg, he could only play half the games. He was reappointed captain in 1991 and led from that time on until his retirement just prior to the start of the 1995 season. Overall, he played 134 games for Waikato, including a record 86 times as captain, scoring 335 points from 67 tries. In the off-season, Mitchell played club rugby in France and Ireland, which included a stint with Garryowen in the All-Ireland League. He was part of the team that finished second on the 1990–91 season to Cork Constitution.