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Twickenham will be at capacity when England host the Wallabies on November 18 for a return bout between the two coaches Eddie Jones and Michael Cheika.
Both have myrtle green blood flowing through their veins from their days at Randwick in the Sydney first grade competition – the Shute Shield.
Both won premierships as players and coaches with the Galloping Greens on their way to becoming world class international coaches.
And both share the disappointment of representing NSW as hooker and No.8 respectively, but never rose to Wallaby status. ‘Pissed off’ would be a more accurate description.
Jones was a cheeky little bugger with a twinkle in his eye as a player, while Cheika was universally rated the hard man of the Shute Shield, many would go so far as to call him a thug.
But all that is in the past, the Twickenham tilt means plenty to both.
When Jones took over England in January 2016, England were ranked eighth in the world, and had just become the first host nation to fail to reach the quarterfinals of the Rugby Word Cup.
At the same time the Wallabies had lost the Rugby World Cup to the men in black, and were ranked world number two.
The two countries were poles apart.
Since then Jones has taken England to world number two, winning 19 of 20 internationals with a 95 per cent success rate.
In the same period Cheika has coached the Wallabies to just 11 wins from 26 internationals with a lowly success rate of just 42.31 per cent.
In the process the Wallabies have been beaten by England four times with the cheeky little bugger at the helm.
And that’s really hurt Cheika.
But Twickenham will be different, and why this head to head will be the highlight of the end of year internationals.
The Wallabies have just come off an outstanding win over the All Blacks, having been pipped at the post in their previous clash in Dunedin – so close to regaining the Bledisloe Cup after a 15-year drought.
And who was the successful Wallaby coach when they last held the Bledisloe? Eddie Jones.
(AP Photo/Koji Sasahara, File)
But it’s time to realistically place Jones’ standing as coach of the world number two England.
In those 20 internationals on the Jones watch, not one has been against the All Blacks, and just one against the Boks – a 39-21 victory a year ago.
And England won’t be playing the All Blacks, nor the Boks, this month.
During the same period, the Wallabies have played the All Blacks six times for one win, and played the Boks four times for a win, a loss, and two draws.
Yet the Wallabies are ranked world number three with much tougher campaigns.
But those facts will mean nothing when the two teams run onto the home of rugby.
Cheika has a much more settled side than the previous losses to England, although it would be fair to say Cheika would be a lot happier if Jack Dempsey hadn’t torn a hammie in the final moments of the clash with the Barbarians last weekend.
(Photo by Jason O’Brien/Getty Images)
Flanker Dempsey is one of the exciting youngsters Cheika has promoted, but missing this spring tour has lessened the Wallabies’ firepower in attack and defence.
Those are the pitfalls of international rugby.
As for Michael Cheika, he’s on the threshold of finishing the year with five wins against All Blacks, Japan, Wales, England, and Scotland.
That would do wonders for the Wallabies who now look as though they are starting to believe in themselves.
It’s not Cheika’s fault it’s taken so long, the Wallabies are just slow learners and why supporters have become so frustrated watching big games being butchered by bone-headed mistakes.
But missing just 11 tackles against the All Blacks made all the difference, and why the Wallabies are capable of making this spring tour a bonanza.