Dublin: Former Wallabies captain Ben Mowen had come to the conclusion he would never represent an Australian team again until he received an unexpected call out from Michael Cheika.
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"My first reaction was I was so excited to be involved," said Mowen of his selection in a Wallaby XV to take on the French Barbarians in Bordeaux on Thursday. "To be invited, just for a brief period, to get back into that environment, is just a real privilege.
"I thought the next time I'd be involved with an Australian team would be when I returned home to Brisbane to play for Easts Tigers. For this to come along, it's not only a big surprise but an amazing privilege."
With 15 Tests to his name and six of those as captain, Mowen walked out on Australian rugby in 2013 to join French club Pau for a different lifestyle and to catch a break from the constant travel that comes with being an international rugby player.
The 31-year-old admits he does have some regrets about leaving, with last year's World Cup a lingering reminder of what he could have experienced.
"I definitely would say at different times [I struggled] and other times I'm really comfortable with my decision," Mowen said. "It's always hard when you're riding the highs and lows when the team's playing through the World Cup. Watching how much they've progressed in the last couple of seasons I definitely have those moments where you think, 'geez I'd love to be involved'."
The Wallaby XV have assembled in the south of France, with Luke Morahan, Scott Fardy and Kyle Godwin leaving the main squad in Ireland on Tuesday to go to France to get some game time.
The team has been bolstered by Henry Vanderglas, the former Brumbies back-rower now playing for Grenoble in France.
"Now that they're not involved here, we want everyone to play football this week," Cheika said. "I'm really quite pleased that we've got guys like Mowen, [Peter] Kimlin, Nathan Charles and Vanderglas, those guys who are coming to play with us and to get a bit of a taste of the Wallaby environment."
Full squad:
Sam Carter, Nathan Charles, Jack Dempsey, Sef Fa'agase, Scott Fardy, Nick Frisby, Mark Gerrard, Kyle Godwin, Andrew Kellaway, Peter Kimlin, Marika Koroibete, Jono Lance, David Lolohea, Luke Morahan, Ben Mowen, Taqele Naiyaravoro, Andrew Ready, Izaia Perese, Tom Robertson, Paddy Ryan, Will Skelton, Nic Stirzaker, Henry Vanderglas.
