Rugby fans from around the world will be in Australia next month for the Rugby World Cup 2003 and doubtless a few Flyertalkers will be among those attending...both in person and in spirit.

I discussed the tournament with SFOJFK in Seattle the other night (but I confess I can't remember the fine detail thanks to over-consumption of Washington state's finest...) and resolved to start a thread for fans who have tickets, armchair fans at home and locals to see if itineraries match up.

I'll go first. Our boys, ranked 9th in the world (no giggles, please), are in Pool B playing the following games:
12 Oct Scotland vs Japan in Townsville 20:00 local
20 Oct Scotland vs United States in Brisbane 19:30 local
25 Oct Scotland vs France in Sydney (Stadium Australia) 20:00 local
01 Nov Scotland vs Fiji in Sydney (Football Stadium) 15:00 local
I will be in BNE 19-22 Oct and in SYD on 1-2 Nov, so if anyone is around and wants to meet up... I may also be around in Brisbane or Melbourne for the quarter finals on 8-9 Nov. That's a big maybe If not at the quarter finals, I'll be at the London do

The opening ceremony for Rugby World Cup 2003 will begin at 7.00pm on 10 October at the Telstra Stadium, Sydney. The third-place play-off will be on Thursday 20th November at Stadium Australia at 8pm. The final will be held at Stadium Australia on Saturday 22nd November at 8pm. All times local.

Rugby World Cup 1999 was broadcast to over 150 countries reaching a cumulative audience of over 3 billion people.

Those with high speed internet connections can view the Scottish Rugby Union advertising campaign here,or view the Scottish Rugby Union World Cup 2003 Website.

The full list of nations competing is:
POOL A: Australia, Argentina, Ireland, Namibia, Romania
POOL B: France, Scotland, Fiji, Japan, USA
POOL C: South Africa, England, Samoa, Georgia, Uruguay
POOL D: New Zealand, Wales, Italy, Canada, Tonga

Alastair

[This message has been edited by ajamieson (edited 09-18-2003).]