RUGBY AUSTRALIA HAS confirmed the dates and venues for Ireland’s two-Test tour against the Wallabies in Australia next summer.
Andy Farrell’s side will take on the Australians at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane on Saturday 4 July, 2020 before a second meeting at the Sydney Cricket Ground a week later on Saturday 11 July.
It is set to be an important tour for Farrell in what will still be his first season in charge of Ireland, with his tenure as head coach set to start in the 2020 Six Nations.
Ireland toured Australia as recently as last year, when Joe Schmidt’s team won the three-game series 2-1, notching just the second-ever Irish Test series success on Australian soil.
It will also be interesting to see who is in charge of the Wallabies come next July’s series against Ireland, with their head coach role currently unoccupied after the departure of Michael Cheika following their World Cup quarter-final exit.
Rugby Australia expressed its pleasure to be bringing an Ireland Test back to the Sydney Cricket Ground for the first time since 1979.
“The Sydney Cricket Ground is one of the most iconic venues in Australian sport and has hosted some of the most famous rugby Test matches ever played in this country,” said Rugby Australia CEO, Raelene Castle.
“Returning there in 2020 for the second Test against Ireland will be a nostalgic experience for those who watched Test matches there through the 60s, 70s, and 80s, and a chance to be part of history for the younger generation watching a Test at the SCG for the first time.
“The last time these two countries played in Sydney, the stadium and the whole Paddington and Moore Park precinct came to life and was flooded with fans wearing green and gold, not to mention the on-field action which went right down to the wire as Ireland pipped the Wallabies to win the series.”
