The Northampton Saints and England scrum-half has played in every game on the British & Irish Lions tour so far
Alex Mitchell is moving one step closer to breaking a fairly incredible British & Irish Lions record.
The England scrum-half is on the bench for the opening Test against Australia this Saturday at the Suncorp Stadium.
When he eventually comes on, Mitchell will play in his seventh game on Tour meaning he has played in every game on Tour so far.
Baring injury, illness or a sudden drop of form, it is also likely that Mitchell will play in the remaining three games left in Australia.
While Ben White will probably start against the First Nations & Pasifika XV, chances are Mitchell will yet again bench as Andy Farrell looks to protect starting scrum-half Jamison Gibson-Park.
If Mitchell keeps this incredible streak up, he will become the first Lion since 1936 to play in every game on tour.
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Who was the last person to play every game on a British & Irish Lions Tour?
The last player to achieve that feat was Bernard Gadney.
Ironically, Gadney was also a scrum-half and played in all 10 games on that year’s tour to Argentina. The Oxford-born back was born in 1909 and played his club rugby at Leicester Tigers.
On that tour, Gadney was captain and led the British & Irish Lions to victory in all ten games, including the single test against Argentina.
Gadney later retired from rugby and became a headmaster at Malsis School. Between the rugby and teaching, he also served as an officer in the Royal Navy during the Second World War.
Related: All the British & Irish Lions fixtures in one place
In more modern tours, one man has come close to playing all Tour games.
On the 2013 tour of Australia, the last time the Lions were Down Under, a certain Dan Cole put in a hell of a shift.
The tighthead prop played in nine of the 10 games including all three Tests.
The only game he missed was the opening game against the Barbarians in Hong Kong. This was due to still being on club duty with Leicester Tigers.
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