Mark David Chisholm
- 43Age
- 58Caps
- 792Wallaby Number
Biography
Born in Gladstone and educated at Brisbane’s esteemed Gregory Terrace, Mark Chisholm chose to leave Queensland in order to achieve higher rugby honours. A mobile lock / blindside flanker, Chisholm graduated from the 1998 Terrace 1st XV to both U19 and U21 aged level representation. He won the Reds’ Colt of the Year in 2000 and a year later made the step up to the senior squad but was surprisingly not capped by his home state.
In 2003, Chisholm moved to the ACT and the following year found himself in the second-row for the Super Rugby final when the Brumbies won their second title. He then won selection on the Wallaby end-of-season Spring Tour and made his Test debut against Scotland in Edinburgh. In a testament to his fitness and durability Chisholm became something of a Spring Tour specialist.
Over the five tours undertaken between 2005 and 2010, Chisholm played in all 20 Tests.
In 2011 he left Australian rugby to join French club Bayonne. Mark Chisholm played 58 Tests in a seven-year career.
Highlights
2000
Represented Australia at the U19s IRB-FIRA World Cup in France.
2001
Represented Australian U21s
2002
Selected in the Australian squad for the inaugural IRB U21s Junior World Championship tournament in South Africa.
2004
Chisholm won his first Test cap off the bench when he replaced Dan Vickerman at lock in the 3rd Test, 31-14 win against Scotland in Edinburgh.
2005
Chisholm played in 12 of the Wallabies’ 13 Tests. He made his run-on XV debut at lock and scored his first Test try in the 74-7 triumph over Samoa in Sydney.
2006
He was capped in all 13 Tests of the year, five as a starter and eight from the bench.
2007
Chisholm accumulated 9 Test caps and was selected to his first Rugby World Cup where he started in the wins over Japan and Canada.
2008
He missed selection during the domestic Test season and for the Tri-Nations but returned to pick up a further five caps, against New Zealand in Hong Kong and then all four internationals on the Spring Tour.
2009
A broken wrist saw him unavailable for the first half of the international season however Chisholm played in each of the final eight Tests, the first seven of which were as a starting lock.
2010
In his final season of Test rugby, Chisholm picked up 10 Test caps and won his 50th in the 2nd Test, 20-21 loss to England in Sydney.