Latrell Mitchell is envious every time he looks at the honour board in the team room of the Kangaroos Manchester hotel listing the number of Test appearances for each Australian player.
Darren Lockyer’s name is at the top, with 59 Tests, followed by Cameron Smith on 56.
Next is Australian coach Mal Meninga, whose 46 Tests don’t include the many games in the green-and-gold against English club teams during his record four Kangaroo tours.
Mitchell is set to play his sixth Test when the Kangaroos take on Italy in this weekend’s last World Cup pool match.
“I want to be one of those legends,” Mitchell said. “I want to be up there and obviously have my name so that the next generation can see what I’ve achieved.”
COVID has robbed a generation of Australian players of their chance to create Test records, with the 2020 Kangaroo tour cancelled and the World Cup postponed from last year to now.
Of the 24 players in the Kangaroos squad, 13 made their Test debuts in the opening two matches of the World Cup, including back-to-back premiership winning Panthers co-captains Nathan Cleary and Isaah Yeo.
Only Daly Cherry-Evans (12) has played more than 10 Tests, with captain James Tedesco set to make his seventh appearance for Australia at St Helens this weekend.
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“I was saying to Mal, ‘I should have 15 Tests by now’,” Mitchell said. “You see all the fellas up on the board, Darren Lockyer at 59 … you want to be on that board.
“It’s just the way the world went but hopefully the NRL and World Cup and international footy can be strong and I’ll get a few more under my belt.
“I’ve got five more years until I’m 30. I might tick on after that, who knows. It’s something we haven’t been able to do for a long time because the game hasn’t been able to be played.
“I want to be playing for our country and be proud of that.”
Yet Mitchell revealed he had initially been unsure if he wanted to play at the World Cup after South Sydney bowed out of the NRL finals in the penultimate game of the season.
The seven weeks in England is the longest Mitchell has been away from his family and after a mid-season trip to the United States to treat a hamstring injury he was reluctant to leave home for another extended period.
Now he is here the 25-year-old superstar is enjoying the experience of a World Cup featuring hakas, Tonga's sipi tau, Samoa's siva tau and Fiji's Noqu Masu, while taking in the history that abounds everywhere in Britain.
The team's hotel, The Midland, was where Charles Rolls met Henry Royce, while St Mary's Guild Hall in Coventry, which last week hosted a civic reception for the Kangaroos, was where Mary Queen of Scots was imprisoned.
The Australian players were told that the height of the door to the room where she was held had been deliberately built low so that anyone entering had to bow to her.
The Kangaroos even visited castles and had a Scottish themed dress up day during their trip to Edinburgh last weekend.
“It’s just been unbelievable, and I am glad I have come,” Mitchell said. “It is very enjoyable and there is a lot to see and a lot to do as well.
“I’m very culturally connected and being able to see everyone else’s culture, get over here and see what it’s all about... it’s beautiful to see.”
He has also forged a close relationship with Meninga, who is revered in England for his appearances with the Kangaroos and St Helens after scoring 38 tries in 31 appearances for Saints.
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The club’s home ground features a giant mural of Meninga, as well as separate tributes to the Australian and New Zealand players who have worn the famous Red V of Saints.
“He walks down the street and everyone wants to get a photo with him,” Mitchell said of Meninga.
“When he walks in you listen, you know he’s there. He is very enjoyable to be around. We don’t call it team meetings any more - we call it team chats.
“He loves a talk and a yarn about how people are feeling. We are all away from home and all missing family, but it is great to have those conversations together all as one.”