England Player Profiles

Mike Brown

Key Facts

Squad	Harlequins
Position	Full back
Age	26
Height	1.83m (6'0")
Weight	89kg (14st 0lb)
Caps	6
Twitter	@mikebrown_15

Playing for England Saxons gave Mike Brown the platform to win five Test caps so far, including his first off the bench against Scotland at Murrayfield in February 2012. The following week he was an unused bench replacement for the Italy game in Rome but appeared in his first Twickenham Test against Wales at the end of that month. He had played against South Africa at Bloemfontein and Pretoria in 2007 on his first senior tour and in the New Zealand match at Auckland the following summer.

He had made a strong impression for the Saxons a few months before his initial international call, scoring two tries in the 34-5 win over Italy A at Exeter and excelling in the 30-5 triumph over Ireland A, since renamed the Wolfhounds, at Ravenhill, Belfast.

Four years on from then, he scored a Saxons’ try in the 45-17 victory over Italy A at Worcester and added two against the USA in the opening Churchill Cup match at Northampton in June 2011. The previous month he had become an Amlin Challenge Cup winner when Harlequins beat Stade Français 19-18 in the final at the City of Cardiff Stadium and was also voted as the club’s players’ player of the season.

He has also been in prime form in 2011-12, helping Harlequins to reach the top of the Aviva Premiership table and scoring 11 tries in his first 21 matches which include five touchdowns in five Heineken Cup appearances.

Between his Test caps, Mike was ever-present in 2007-08 for Harlequins in the Premiership, having more game time than any other player in the top league. He showed his maturity and appeared in 30 matches during that season and missed only two games – one in what is now the LV= Cup and another in the Heineken Cup.

He had been a member of the England U21 squad that achieved a Grand Slam in 2006, having been born in Southampton and educated at Peter Symonds College in Winchester and Wyvern College, Salisbury, the city here he began playing at the age of five.

Mike joined the local club’s U8 team, represented Dorset & Wilshire at all age groups from U14 – U18 and played for the South West U18 and Hampshire U20. He joined Harlequins Academy in 2002-03, appeared for the U19 and U21 sides and established himself as a regular choice for their A League team

A try-scorer on his 19-minute senior debut in a competitive game against Doncaster Knights in October 2005, he started his first match against Coventry the following week. That season, he ran in seven tries in 13 National One games, first showing his homing instinct for the whitewash that has subsequently served Harlequins well. He was the club’s Young Player of the Year in 2005-06 and their Player of the Year the following season. By mid March this year, he had amassed a remarkable 61 tries in his 176 appearances. Last September, he re-signed for the club in a contract taking him to 2014.