Matt Giteau and Drew Mitchell (left and centre) are enjoying life on the Mediterranean © Twitter

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Australia should follow South Africa's lead and pick overseas-based players who are the best in their position, Drew Mitchell believes.

The Australian Rugby Union selects only players with Australian Super Rugby franchises for the Wallabies, as an attempt to prevent a flood of stars heading overseas for a bigger pay cheque, but the union's parlous financial situation has officials considering a range of measures to reduce overheads. One of those measures includes the potential for selection of overseas-based players - as South Africa have done, controversially, with notable names such as Bryan Habana, Fourie du Preez, Frans Steyn and Ruan Pienaar - in a bid to clear the books of some of the highest salaries.

Mitchell, who plays alongside former Wallabies team-mate Matt Giteau for French Top 14 powerhouse Toulon, told News Corp that he backed the proposal of Australian Rugby Union Players Association chief executive Greg Harris for a quota of overseas-based players for Wallabies selection.

"It has always been the case for representative teams that if you are the best player in the position then you should be picked," Mitchell told News Corp. "There are international release windows because of that fact. So it's not like you are going to get half your team from this side of the world, but if there's one or two guys who are genuinely the best options in their positions, then they should be considered."

Mitchell, who played the last of his 63 Tests for Australia in December 2012, against Wales in Cardiff, said that Wallabies-qualified players based in Europe "would certainly jump at the opportunity to play for Australia, it is still, for us, the highest honour you can get".

Mitchell said that a quota could certainly see Toulon team-mate Giteau adding to his 92 Test caps, the last of which he won in the humbling loss to Samoa in July 2011. Giteau has been short-listed for the award as best player in Europe for the past two seasons, and Mitchell told News Corp that his team-mate had "taken his game to all-new levels".