Wallabies to face Barbarians at Wembley
The Wallabies will mark the 60th anniversary of their first meeting with the Barbarians at Wembley
The Australian Rugby Union has announced a six-match Wallabies tour schedule for 2008, 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 60th 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 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 Wallabies then open the European leg of the tour with a Test against Italy on November 8.
Australia will be out to avenge a 12-10 Rugby World Cup quarter-final loss when playing England at Twickenham the following Saturday, November 15. At stake is the Cook Cup, which Australia currently holds after back-to-back victories in 2006.
Following England, the Wallabies travel to France to face Les Bleus on 22 November in the third Test against the World Cup semi-finalists this year - Australia also play the French in Sydney and Brisbane in June.
The fifth Test of the tour will feature the Wallabies against Wales at the 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 boss John O'Neill said the 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," he said.
"We're excited about what lies ahead on Robbie Deans' first tour to Europe as 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."
Australia's tour schedule:
Saturday 1 November
Australia v New Zealand - Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong
Saturday 8 November
Italy v Australia - TBC
Saturday 15 November
England v Australia - Twickenham, London
Saturday 22 November
France v Australia - Stade de France, Paris
Saturday 29 November
Wales v Australia - Millennium Stadium, Cardiff
Wednesday 3 December
Barbarians v Australia - Wembley Stadium, London