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Baa-baas set for 'Olympic occasion'
Posted Wed, 23 Apr 2008
The British Olympic Association (BOA) have confirmed that the 100th anniversary of the Olympic Games in London will be marked by a rugby match between the Barbarians and Australia.
The match on December 3 at Wembley Stadium will mark the centenary of the 1908 Games and of the Olympic rugby union Final between Great Britain and Australia.
It will be the first time a rugby union match has taken place at the new national stadium.
In 1908 the Wallabies defeated a Great Britain side represented by the county of Cornwall, 32-3, to claim the gold medal.
"It is appropriate to mark the 100th anniversary of the Olympic Games first coming to London and this game at Wembley is a unique chance to see top class international rugby played at one of the world's greatest venues," BOA chief executive Simon Clegg told AFP.
"This will be the culmination of the Wallabies' six-match end of year tour and continues the Barbarian tradition of playing a southern hemisphere team at the end of their European tour for the "Final Challenge," added Clegg.
The Barbarians have played the Wallabies nine times with their last meeting in 2001 at the Millennium Stadium when the Australians ran out 49-35 winners.
"The Barbarians have a long standing history with Australia, as the club's first international match was against the Wallabies in 1948 - the same year as London hosted its second Olympic Games," said Barbarians president Micky Steele-Bodger.
"We are delighted to be working this time round with the British Olympic Association in their Centenary year celebrations and also playing at Wembley, as it was the preferred choice of the BOA because of its Olympic heritage, past and future," Steele-Bodger went on to say.
