The Wallabies' Rugby Championship opener against the world champion Springboks in Brisbane is officially a sellout. Kicking off at 2:30pm, Saturday's rare afternoon Test match will be the first time that Suncorp Stadium will be packed to capacity for a Wallabies match since 2013 against the British and Irish Lions. More than 50,000 fans will be in attendance.
"The response to this match shows that Australians and Queenslanders are right behind this Wallabies squad," Rugby Australia CEO Phil Waugh said on Wednesday."We are still building under Joe (Schmidt), and we have started the season reasonably well against Wales and Georgia, however the two-time defending Rugby World Cup Champions are a new and exciting challenge."Hopefully the beautiful Queensland weather on a Saturday afternoon should make for some entertaining day-time footy, and quite a spectacle for the fans in attendance.
" Unlike Sydney, where the Wallabies had won only once in 12 matches before last month's hard-earned victory over Georgia, Brisbane has become Australian rugby's burial ground for opposition teams. Australia won 10 straight Tests, including beating South Africa and New Zealand both on multiple occasions, before having their Brisbane streak ended by Eddie Jones' England side in 2021. The Wallabies will be back at Suncorp Stadium this weekend for the first time in three years as Schmidt's unbeaten charges look to restore the ground's reputation as a fortress.
"The boys are familiar with the ground an.