Ben Mitchell

Ben was the captain of Austin Elite Rugby from 2018 through 2019. He was regarded as the best player on the team and played in 15 of the team’s 16 games. He was among the league leaders in dominant tackles and in carries. He also was named to the All-MLR Second Team. In 2019 he played 1129 minutes in the 15 matches he started, carried 143 times for 699 meters, had 4 linebreaks, 1 tackle break, 9 offloads, 1 kick for 18 meters, and made 200 tackles. He was also 7th in the MLR in lineout takes with 43 and 4th in lineout steals with five. In 2018 he started all 8 matches and played 620 minutes.

Mitchell was born in Nottingham, England, and moved to Ireland when he was 6 years old. He then began playing rugby that same year at Youghal RFC, East Cork, Ireland, the local club side. Mitchell attended High school at Midleton College, East Cork, playing center and fullback and was selected on the Munster School’s team in 2011 as a center.

After graduating high school, he attended University College Cork in 2012, majoring in Economics and Finance. He also played rugby with UCC RFC. During his first year with the club, he was moved from the center to the second row. For the first one and a half years, he played on the under 20s team and by 2014 made his debut in the senior/ All Ireland league, where he played on the senior team for over 5 seasons from 2014 through to the 2017/18 season. The UCC RFC was promoted from division 2 to division 1 of the All Ireland League in the 2015/2016 season. Mitchell was also honored as the UCC RFC player of the year on 2 occasions and played his last game for the team in November 2017.

Big Ben with his rugby knowledge, combined with his exceptional work rate, makes a serious threat on the field. We are thrilled to have him back for his third season with the San Diego Legion in 2022.