The Wallabies’ final preparations before England will include a two week tour of the USA and a historic match against the USA Eagles at Soldier Field in Chicago on Saturday 5 September.
The match will be the Wallabies’ first Test in the USA in almost 40 years and will be just the forth time Australia has played on US soil.
The Wallabies played against the USA for the first time ever in a tour match in Berkeley in 1912, a game which was not classified as a Test. Australia played their maiden Test match against the Eagles in Los Angeles in 1976, in a game that marked the Eagles’ first ever Test on the world stage.
It will also form a major part of Wallabies Head Coach Michael Cheika’s plans ahead of England, with Australia flying from the USA to London ahead of their match against Fiji on Wednesday 23 September in Cardiff.
“The lead up and match will be a critical part of our preparations before we head to England,” Cheika said.
“Although we haven’t met on many occasions, there’s a rich history between our two Rugby nations, with the Eagles playing their first ever Test match against the Wallabies some 40 years ago. We know it will be a spirited encounter for that very reason and look forward to playing in front of a big Chicago crowd.”
Australian Rugby Union CEO Bill Pulver said the tour would also provide significant strategic benefits for the organisation.
“The opportunity to bring the Wallabies to a new market in the United States is a major boost for our code in Australia and opens the door to significant future commercial opportunities,” Mr Pulver said.
“The match also has significant revenue benefits for the ARU during a 2015 season where the Qantas Wallabies play only two Test matches on home soil.
“We want to thank USA Rugby for making this opportunity possible, in what will be an important two weeks for the Wallabies.
The Wallabies remain unbeaten in seven Test matches played against the United States, with their most recent match coming in Wellington during 2011.
Bakkies
Guest
From Chicago to LHR it's least 9 hours
Kiwi in US
Guest
Hello Danoz, What I have been doing when the channel 490 does not have a game is tune into a nz sport radio channel on my phone. The crowd last year was a mixture of us rugby players young and old and many New Zealanders that ended up here married with kids. So lots of families and just an all out awesome game. After the match all the non playing members went out and had a training. We got down as close to the field as we could and watched. This was/is a very special All Black side with ledgends playing. That was a big motivation for our family to go. We probably spent $3.000 on the whole trip including flights etc. We met another family whom the husband had played for a local college. We had been like rugby mates, seperated by 20 years but still loving the code.
Dwayne Johnson
Guest
Interesting choice of name there. You baring it all Kelefua?
SP
Guest
"desperate stuff from the ARU." yeh, let's not contribute to helping spread the appeal of rugby, especially to country where it could actually gain a decent foothold. Not our responsibility eh cobber?
Lostintokyo
Guest
Why Soldier Field, Chicago again? Why not spread the gospel elsewhere? Novelty spectators may not turn up twice in such a short time.
PeterK
Roar Guru
good idea, need to fill the coffers
terry
Guest
That's an original thougt. Could have sworn another team did it last year. So much for ground breaking strategy from ARU. also does not matter how much the Chicago Bears suck. They play on Sunday. The game you speak of will play on Saturday!!!
Piru
Guest
James, they will sell it out
Piru
Guest
They did against NZ
terry
Guest
That's orginal. Could have sworn the ABS did it last year. Amazing original thinking ARU
Kane
Guest
The Yanks will fill a stadium to watch a paint drying competition. If this isn't a sell out it will be very close to it.
Danoz
Guest
Thanks for the tip on Direct TV. Unfortunately we only have Fios, and the best they have is Bien Sports, which is very hit and miss in terms what rugby they cover, and very rarely have it on at any sort of decent time (never live). But i will keep it in mind when its time to renew. I watched the game on TV, and it looked like a good crowd and even enjoyed it despite the score. Probably just happy to see a top tier team play! I am hoping one of the European teams come and play closer to Florida, as that might be easier to get too.
Bakkies
Guest
Good man
Bakkies
Guest
That attitude worked against Samoa. Fiji will be up for it. They only lost to Wales by 4 points in November. As for warm ups they were organised last year
Kiwi in US
Guest
Agree with all you say. Surly NBC will carry it. They have been a big supporter of Eagles rugby. Have you watched the super 15 games on direct TV channel 490. It has been great. Last year I took the wife and kids to Chicago for the AB game. It was absolutely a celebration of rugby. So many Americans love the game and made the pilgrimage. Big party beforehand. Chicago is easy to get around. Great food. An epic trip. The announcers kept calling Dan Carter, Danny Carter. Although the score was a blow out it was a celebration. We got our tickets first day online and somehow got into some sort of club bar. The pre match was great.
Brian USA
Guest
I know I'll be booking tickets when they come on sale!
kelefua
Guest
Great news for USA rugby and some extra coin for Wallabies. Plenty Aussies over there and with the interest generated last year a good crowd shouldn't be a problem
Sean Turner
Roar Guru
Good timing. The Bears were shocking last season, and if the draft and free agent trade periods were anything to go by, they'll be shocking this year too. Rugby might be a nice change of pace, at least I hope so anyway.
Danoz
Guest
This is good news for both the Wallabies and the Eagles. A bit of a financial pick up for the Wallabies, and some top tier exposure and experience for the Eagles in their preparation for the world cup. It is also excellent for the continued promotion and growth of Rugby in the USA. This hit the media about a week ago over here as strong speculation and was confirmed yesterday. I am fully expecting this game to be promoted well hre in the US (hopefully the ARU can take a few lessons on how to promote a sport in a tough market place). There are a lot of Aussies in the US and especially New York, so I woudnt be supervised to see a good crowd in green and gold attend, as its pretty rare for us to experience "our sports" over here. There are also a lot of rugby fans in the US, so hopefully it is played on NBC and people tune in. There is also talk of two of the European teams to come over and play this year. One against the Eagles (so solider field), the other against a new team that is being formed by a private backed competition consisting of ex NFL or college players. In 2016 there is talk of a east cost professional competition starting up. I havent seen a lot of detail on this, so it might never happen, but there is a fair bit of noise about rugby right now, so hopefully things start to happen and I dont have to rely upon you tube replays for all things rugby :-)
Breeze101
Roar Rookie
I agree with what you say but also the historic test in America with the All Blacks was to also pave the way for other top sides like Wallabies, Springboks etc to follow suit. It was a massive historic achievement for Rugby in America last year all thanks to the collective effort from both USA Rugby, Corporate sponsors, NBC Network especially to the NZ All Blacks who are global brand on its own. This is great for Rugby but the Wallabies also need to promote their end as well hopefully it can sell out its great for the game!!