Rugby's Historic visit to Wembley

Australian Rugby Union today announced a six-match Qantas Wallabies 2008 Spring Tour schedule, including a historic finale against the Barbarians at Wembley on December 3.

The match against the Barbarians is at the invitation of the British Olympic Association and commemorates the Olympic Gold Medal for Rugby won by Australia at the 1908 London Olympics at White City.

Rugby remains the only Australian football code to have won an Olympic medal.

Coincidentally, the match marks the 60^th anniversary of the first meeting between the Wallabies and the Barbarians at Cardiff Arms Park in January 1948. That day the hosts defeated the Wallabies 9-6 in front of 45,000 fans.

The Spring Tour starts with a Bledisloe Cup Test in Hong Kong on November 1, the first time Rugby’s most storied trophy has been contested outside of Australia or New Zealand.

The Qantas Wallabies then open the European leg of the tour with a Test against Italy on 8 November.

Australia will be out to avenge a 12-10 Rugby World Cup quarter-final loss when playing England at Twickenham the following Saturday, 15 November. At stake is the Cook Cup, which Australia currently holds after back-to-back victories in 2006.

Following England, the Qantas Wallabies travel to France to face Les Blues on 22 November – the third time they will face the World Cup semi-finalists this year. Australia also play the French in Sydney and Brisbane in June.

The fifth Test of the Spring Tour will feature the Qantas Wallabies against Wales at Millennium Stadium in Cardiff on 29 November in a rematch of their 2007 RWC encounter. The Welsh will be hoping to win the James Bevan trophy for the first time after the Wallabies secured the newly inaugurated trophy last year.

ARU Managing Director & CEO John O’Neill said the 2008 Spring Tour was one of the most significant undertaken in the modern era.

“We are playing five Tests, starting with an historic Bledisloe Cup game in Hong Kong, then ending the trip with a sixth game against the Barbarians which has major historical connections,” Mr O’Neill said.

“We’re excited about what lies ahead on Robbie Deans’ first tour to Europe as Qantas Wallabies coach.

“It is, in many respects, a ground-breaking venture; a first ever Bledisloe Cup Test offshore, playing at the famed and redeveloped Wembley Stadium, and the opportunity to celebrate our Olympic Games success 100 years ago.”

Qantas Wallabies 2008 Spring Tour Schedule