Mitchell Pearce is a NRL premiership winner with the Roosters and NSW State of Origin star. He now coaches the sport in France with the Catalans Dragons and has settled into his new European life with his wife, Lila, and daughter, Alyia.
Fitz: Mitchell! Great to chat. But enough about you. Let’s talk about me. I’m a biographer, and I love looking at the seminal moments in people’s lives, the moments that change the course of a life. And if somebody had said to me last week that Mitchell Pearce – the brilliant hell-raising footballer of not so long ago – is now a non-drinking, French-speaking married man who has converted to Islam and can give fluent bursts of Arabic, I would have said that is the most unheard of thing I’ve ever HEARD of, but…
MP: [Laughter.]
Fitz: But here you are. So let’s look at the seminal moments in your life that led you to this. To start, when did you realise “My father [Tigers legend Wayne Pearce] is a seriously famous footballer”?
MP: Obviously, I knew early Dad was famous, but when you’re in that environment, you think it’s just the norm. As a kid, I was always around Leichhardt Oval and the Tigers. I was always at training and staying at Nan’s house, just down the road from there. Dad’s greatness always had this strong presence. But obviously as you get a little bit older you start to realise your own dad is not like other dads. And more than a great footy player, he’s a person of influence, and really respected. And I guess, naturally, I wanted to be like that.
Fitz: So, when did you realise not only is Dad a great footballer, but I also have serious ability?
MP: As soon as I started playing. Mum and Dad didn’t let me play footy ’til I was 10 years old. They didn’t want any sense of me being forced into it, or put any pressure on me to play. I played soccer until then. But I loved it from the moment I started. It wasn’t pushed on me but quickly became my passion. And I loved watching Andrew Johns, Matty Johns, Brad Fittler, those kind of guys from as soon as I knew what footy was. And I studied them, so it was obviously just a natural instinct for me to want to be like that as well, and be like my dad, I suppose.
Fitz: And your breakthrough?
MP: I made the Australian schoolboys side at my first opportunity. And then I started with the Sydney Roosters very young, so it was probably around that time that I started to play against the older kids and still hold my own that I started to feel even more confident.
Fitz: And the pinnacle of the whole thing, the moment when you felt, “I’m on the peak of Everest”?
MP: I debuted for the Roosters, young, at 17; I played State of Origin at 19. It all sort of happened quite fast. But winning the grand final was the best. We lost against the Dragons in 2010, but then beat Manly in the grand final in 2013. That was the highlight of my life, though there were different milestones and setbacks that followed.
Fitz: Speaking of setbacks, I’m guessing that episode in 2016 was the worst? You’ll be pleased to hear I don’t remember the details, but I think there was a dog involved, in some mock sexual escapade that came with a photo being taken?
MP: Yeah, in the pre-season we had a boat day for the Roosters, with a lot of drinking. I was captain, got too carried away, kicked on, and ended up carrying on like a goose back at a house. A total lack of responsibility, and I’ve gone through a fair bit of that in my 20s, always when alcohol was involved and having a big head, being a bit obnoxious when drinking. I’ve put my hand up well and truly on a lot of those incidents and, mate, to be honest, I probably dodged a few too. It’s one of those things that you don’t look back on fondly. That one was very hard on me, and my mum.
Fitz: There was some other scandal in 2020 which we don’t need to go into and honestly, all I can remember is that again alcohol was involved. So the seminal moment of “I’m going to change” must have come after that? Was that while playing league in France?
MP: No. I’d had my first year in France as a single man. I came back to Australia to see family before I returned for the second year. And over two days on the Gold Coast, I’d had a very big drinking session with my great mate Todd Carney. I was just so tired and burnt out, something from above sort of changed me and made me realise that I just had enough of this – and all this shame and guilt, and a lot of emotions were coming up. I decided to totally give up.
Fitz: I’ve been there. I decided to stop drinking on September 14, 2014. So that night I reckon I knocked back three bottles of wine, and haven’t had a drop since. Did you have one last big blowout?
MP: No. I decided to stop straight after the blowout. The next day, Todd and I didn’t say a word to each other. We just sat there over dinner, and there was some darkness. I knew it was time to stop. I’d made a few phone calls the night before when I was intoxicated and not feeling great. I’d made similar commitments before to stop – you say all the right things and talk about making change – but this day was the day. It was different. I was going to stop.
Fitz: What happened that day, with Todd Carney? That sounds like a great story? What happened that you both decided: “We’re off, we’re done”?
MP: He’s got his own story, but he’s on his journey too. He’s been sober for a while now. But mate, for me, it was just a really weird feeling. It was a basically looking at yourself in the mirror and thinking, “What am I doing? Do I really want to keep being this person, underachieving, being a bit loose, and being single, and not having children?” All these emotions came up, they really did, and it was, it was something deeper than I’d ever felt before. So I stopped, cold. And I went back to France with a very clear head, and everything got better.
Fitz: How much did you miss the grog, Mitchell? I was astonished that I didn’t miss it at all! I loved grog, and loved being a bit pissed, but once I got through the first two weeks, I’ve rarely thought of it since. Were you lucky like that? Or are you in the category of “I’m 1012 days sober and counting” sort of thing?
MP: I was lucky, like you. I feel just as happy sober as I did when I was having a good time, and I love feeling cleaner, and I’ve got a lot more purpose when I’m clear of grog.
Fitz: My son’s line is, “It’s a better Saturday night with grog, it’s a better life without it.” Is that you?
MP: That’s really good, but I am still having great times on Saturday night, stone-cold sober. But everything else has improved. My relationships with everyone have got stronger because you’re a more reliable person, you’re a more honest person, and I think when you’re living true to yourself, you’re better value. And I was sober when I started going out with Lila …
Fitz: Now we’re getting to the fascinating stuff. She is a French Islamic woman?
MP: Yeah, my wife’s French, and her father’s side of the family are from Algeria.
Fitz: So she converted you …
MP: She didn’t convert me, it was my own choice!
Fitz: So, tell me about embracing Islam.
MP: Yeah, mate, it was new for me at the start. I’ve always been a spiritual person throughout my life. I’ve always felt a higher connection. I’ve read about different faiths over the years. I first went looking for a higher power when I went to a rehab in Thailand in 2016, when I had my drug troubles, and I think for me, without going too deep into faith and stuff like that … I feel like you get chosen when the time’s right.
Fitz: So, you were chosen by Allah?
MP: For me, mate, the Islamic faith was really clean. It was well organised. It’s a great routine, you know? I obviously have an influence of my wife being Muslim as well, but it was a great, calming influence. A lot of my friends in France are Muslim – Arabic friends – and I just love the way they live their life. They’re really clean. It’s a clean lifestyle, and it gets a lot of bad rap, like all religions. There’s lots of different perceptions on different things, but for me here was a faith that grabbed me. I love the routine of Islam. My prayers give me peace.
Fitz: But you believe there’s a spiritual being called “Allah” that’s watching over us, Mecca is the most holy place on earth, and you kneel and face Mecca five times a day and pray?
MP: I do. And I do my prayers every day. I believe in one creator, and for me, this is the biggest thing for faith. When I’ve started to pray, and I’ve lived clean, my prayers give me peace, and for me, that’s what life’s about. I found something that gives me an alignment that I was missing. It keeps me feeling more pure, and for me, that’s something that has worked well for me.
Fitz: And when you pray, are there – excuse my ignorance – are there Islamic prayers along the lines of: “I honour you, Allah, Allah Akbar, you are great”? Is there a strict format of prayers that you say?
MP: Yeah, the prayers are consistent across the world. Obviously, it’s in Arabic. You learn to memorise them …
Fitz: So, what’s the opening prayer?
MP: [He intones a prayer in what sounds like remarkably accent-less Arabic.]
Fitz: That’s serious Arabic!
MP: Yeah, I think to be honest, man, I’ve always believed in a higher power. And I’ve believed in a god, and I’ve believed in our source. Everything comes from our source, and I’ve seen so many great changes in myself personally, and other people, when you believe in something bigger than yourself.
Fitz: And have you talked to your former teammate Sonny Bill Williams about it? He has to be our most famous footballer who’s Muslim.
MP: Yes. When I converted and went down the path of Islam, a lot of the Muslim guys were really supportive, the boys are really supportive. So, yeah, I spoke to Sonny a fair bit.
Fitz: Does it change your world view? Do you now have a much stronger view than you might have had previously on, say, the Israel-Lebanon war or the horrors of what has happened to Gaza?
MP: I try and stay out of the political side of things. So I probably don’t really want to comment. But there’s no doubt when you dive into religion, you do see different cultures from different perspectives. I think that’s a great thing.
Fitz: So, let me ask you this: Quand je te parle en français, est-ce que tu me comprends parfaitement?
MP: [A little uncertainly.] Oui, si tu parles … doucement. Yes, if you speak slowly. I wish I spoke better, but I can blame my wife because she’s a bad teacher. (But please make clear I am laughing, when I say that!) When I met Lila, she spoke a few words of English, but within about three or four months, she’d picked it up. She’s super-intelligent, and I’m very slow with language. And when I am coaching the halves at the Catalans club, we speak English the majority of the time.
Fitz: Parles-moi de ta petite fille. Tell me about your baby daughter.
MP: She’s beautiful. She’s nine months old now. She was born in Perpignan. She’s also changed my life, it’s the best thing ever. And yeah, every day just gets better, and there’s just no love like it, as you know. And Lila’s been a beautiful mum.
Fitz: And the future? Will you come back to coach in Australia?
MP: I did bits and pieces with the Roosters’ academy before I came back. I’m enjoying coaching, but I’m also open-minded to some other stuff. Todd Carney and I have started the Reboot Mindset Academy charity, and we have a good team of psychologists targeting mainly youth. Reboot is about people making changes and dealing with their issues. We’ve got a seven-step program that basically takes you through getting back to your values and your alignment and helping people reboot their life. I’m very passionate about it.
Fitz: Well, Mitchell, on behalf of a lot of people who have watched you over many years, allow me to say it’s fascinating to see the way in which your life has turned. I’m an atheist to beat them all, but I admire the steps you’ve taken. Whatever works for you. Au revoir, mon pote.
MP: A bientot.
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