Four months ago Drew Mitchell never would have thought he’d be wearing the gold jersey again.
Fast forward 108 days and Mitchell has returned to Australia, come off the bench in the Qantas Wallabies’ 24-20 victory over the Springboks and tomorrow night he will run onto ANZ Stadium to face the All Blacks in his first Test start since December 1, 2012.
“Given I didn’t think I’d get this opportunity again, to be named to start against New Zealand is a great opportunity, and Cheik has showed a fair bit of faith me, now it’s up to me to repay that faith” Mitchell said.
A lot has changed since Mitchell was last in the Wallabies squad, with a new coach, new teammates and a completely new game plan in place.
“Having to adapt to this kind of environment again, and finding a seat on the bus and all those little things. It’s great to share that with guys I’ve played with previously and also guys I haven’t played with before.”
It will a huge test for the Wallabies who haven’t defeated New Zealand since 2011. The last time Drew Mitchell and Matt Giteau started in a Test match together against the All Blacks was in 2010 in Hong Kong. The Wallabies were victorious on the day, winning 26-24.
However it’s New Zealand who have had the edge over Australia in recent years and Mitchell has lauded the All Blacks ability to adapt to the changing game.
“For any team in any sport to stay at the top of the game for that long, they’re obviously doing something right.
“When they’ve made selection changes within their group, the guys have come in and been able to do the job for them. “
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