Mitchell Hunt

Mitchell James Hunt (born 19 June 1995) is a New Zealand rugby union player who currently plays as a first five-eighth or fullback forTasman in New Zealand's domestic Mitre 10 Cup and theHighlanders in the international Super Rugby competition.

Born and raised in the city of Nelson on New Zealand's South Island, Hunt attended Nelson College in his hometown where he enjoyed a successful time, playing 51 times for their rugby team's first XV.He moved north to study engineering at the University of Auckland after graduating high school and began playing local club rugby in the Auckland area.During his time in Auckland, he was a member of theBlues development squad and Auckland's national sevens team.

Hunt made theAuckland squad for the 2015 ITM Cup and netted 10 points in 7 games as his side reached the competition's final before going down toCanterbury.He returned home to Nelson in 2016 and turned out for the Tasman Makos.Playing mainly in the number 15 jersey, Hunt started all 12 of the Makos games during the season which again saw him finish on the losing side once again in the final, with Canterbury once more coming out on top.

Just 7 appearances in his debut season of provincial rugby were all it took to convince the Christchurch-basedCrusaders that he was worthy of a Super Rugby contract.He made their senior squad for the first time in 2016 and made 2 substitute appearances during his debut campaign.He was subsequently retained in the squad for the 2017 Super Rugby season.

Hunt was a member of the New Zealand side which won the 2015 World Rugby Under 20 Championship in Italy, scoring 33 points in 5 games.