MITCHELL, Drew WALLABY TEST CAP No. 799
Position: Wing/Fullback
Height: 182cm
Weight: 95kg
Born: 26 March 1984, Sydney
Super 14 Team: Reds 2003-2006, Western Force 2007-
Representative Honours: Australian Under 16s 2000, Australian Schoolboys 2001, Australian Sevens 2002, Australian U21s 2003-2004, Australia A 2004-2006, Australian Wallabies 2005, 2007-
Senior Tours: 2004 UK & France, 2006 UK, Ireland & Italy, 2007 RWC (France), 2008 Hong Kong & Europe
* Super 14 caps to 1:4:09
2006 TEST MINUTES: 0 2007 TEST MINUTES: 636 2008 TEST MINUTES: 320
Despite a late start due to injury last year, Drew Mitchell worked his way back into the Wallaby frame via the Australia A programme, and wound up adding eight further caps to his tally, with the addition of a Test try at Johannesburg and two against the All Blacks in Hong Kong. The former Queenslander made the most of his move to the Western Force in 2007, featuring in every match the side played to reclaim his Test spot, after he had been overlooked by the Wallabies in 2006. Mitchell’s maiden Wallaby season in 2005 saw him bag six tries from 10 appearances. In 2007, he scored seven tries from five matches at the Rugby World Cup to finish up as the tournament’s second highest try-scorer. 2008 saw Mitchell utilised at both wing and fullback by the Wallabies.
Career Timeline
2001 Captained the Australian Schoolboys on their UK Tour.
2003 Represented Australian Under 21s at the iRB World Championship in England.
2004 After a strong debut season of Super 12, playing all 11 matches for the Reds, he was named as a bolter for the Spring Tour where he played against the French Barbarians and was later named in the Wallaby match-day squad for the Test against England at Twickenham. He also captained the Australian Under 21s at the iRB World Championship in Scotland.
2005 After topping the try-scorers list for the Reds in Super 12, he was included in the Wallaby squad for the domestic season and earned his first chance to impress at Test level against South Africa in Sydney, scoring a try in the process. He was later named Wallaby Rookie of the Year after scoring six tries in 10 Test appearances.
2006 Started every Super 14 match for the Reds but was overlooked by Wallaby selectors for the domestic series and Tri Nations, returning for the Spring Tour where he played a role in the mid-week victories over Ireland A and Scotland A.
2007 After struggling to find his feet in the fullback jersey early in the season, his game-breaking qualities came to the fore in his debut season with the Western Force playing in every game of the Super 14 season. Returned to Wallabies for the domestic Test season then headed to France for Rugby World Cup, scoring seven tries in five appearances, which made him the second highest try-scorer at the tournament.
2008 Surpassed a half century of Super rugby caps, playing 12 matches for the Force to take his career tally to 60. Appeared for Australia A in the Pacific Six Nations Cup before returning to the Wallabies in time for the Tri-Nations, where he featured on four occasions. Added a further four caps on the Spring Tour, which included a try-scoring double against the All Blacks during the historic Test in Hong Kong. These were the only tries that New Zealand conceded across the five Tests it played on the successful Grand Slam tour.