Drew Allan Mitchell was born in Sydney on 26 March 1984 and educated at St Patrick's College, Shorncliffe. He played club rugby for Balmain and at state and Super Rugby level for the Reds, Western Force and the Waratahs. He was a replacement for Australia against the Barbarians at Wembley Stadium in 2008 and in June 2009 scored two tries in the return fixture in Sydney. In the following two years he played for the Barbarianss at full-back and wing respectively in the victories over New Zealand and South Africa at Twickenham. By the start of the 2011 Rugby World Cup Drew Mitchell had played in 55 tests for Australia since his debut in 2005 and his 27 tries included a hat-trick against France in Paris in 2010.