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When the Wallabies lost in the quarter-finals of the 1995 Rugby World Cup, they flew back a day later and players had to pass Australian fans waiting in customs in Perth, about to fly across to South Africa having wanted to watch them play in the semi-finals.<\/p>\n
The story goes that one embarrassed Wallaby hid in the toilet to avoid the awkwardness.<\/p>\n
The fans have since wised up \u2013 most now book tickets for pool games \u2013 but the experience certainly didn\u2019t scare Wallabies supporters from making a four-yearly pilgrimage to the Rugby World Cup.<\/p>\n
Indeed, Australians continue to be among the most enthusiastic travellers to rugby\u2019s showpiece tournament and a record number are expected to attend the 2023 Rugby World Cup in France, which kicked off on Saturday morning with the host nation taking on New Zealand in Paris.<\/p>\n
The Wallabies begin their campaign on Sunday morning (2am AEST) against Georgia, also in Paris, and despite Eddie Jones\u2019 side having gone winless so far this year, an estimated 15,000 Australians are still expected to be in France and cheering them on across the two-month tournament.<\/p>\n
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Wallabies halfback Nic White poses with some fans in France.<\/span><\/p>\n For the second consecutive Rugby World Cup, Australians have bought the third-most World Cup tickets for an overseas country, behind England and Ireland.<\/p>\n But despite France being a far longer plane trip than Japan in 2019, group tour agents Gullivers have had a 25 per cent increase in the total size of their supporter group numbers. Tours have been booked out for several years, and many ex-pats are also expected from the UK.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is the eighth World Cup I have done and it\u2019s the biggest one yet,\u201d Gullivers official Mike Jones said.<\/p>\n Two factors drove the increased demand for 2023, according to Jones: a post-COVID travel urge and the city of love, Paris.<\/p>\n \u201cWe released in early 2021 and the world was fairly uncertain at that point,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cBut when we started getting out of the COVID period and everything started opening up, sales just went berserk, absolutely mad. And that was obviously one of the reasons why, people wanted to get away and travel again. And secondly, France is a unique destination. This time, compared to Japan, there are a lot more couples and women on the tours.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s boosted the numbers, and whereas in Japan, one in three we had (in the tour groups) were women, now it is one in two.\u201d<\/p>\n After several lean seasons, and the return of Eddie Jones at the start of the year, the Wallabies aren\u2019t among the favourites to win in 2023. Jones has picked a young squad to regenerate Australian rugby, and after facing Georgia, the Wallabies will take on Fiji, Wales and Portugal.<\/p>\n Ready for a World Cup party…(from left) Wallabies fans Scott McKellar, Jacqui Yeo, BJ Fergusson, Kerrie McMaster and Stephen Stone in Paris.<\/span><\/p>\n Wollongong\u2019s Scott McKellar had booked his trip to France with Gullivers even before godson and Wallabies prop Blake Schoupp was selected from the clouds for this World Cup.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s an amazing feeling knowing I\u2019ll now get to cheer Blake in this first game against Georgia. He\u2019s a guy who will do Australia proud,\u201d McKellar said in Paris.<\/p>\n BJ Fergusson and Jacqui Yeo, both of Dunedoo in the central-west of NSW, and Coolah\u2019s Kerrie McMaster had their love of rugby touring grow from their husbands playing the game together.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is my fourth time following the World Cup on a tour. Rugby means lifelong friendships to me. It\u2019s a fresh start for the Wallabies. I don\u2019t yet know all the new faces but they have my support,\u201d schoolteacher-farmer Fergusson said.<\/p>\n Added Yeo: \u201cIt\u2019s all about the champagne for me in France.\u201d<\/p>\n McMaster said: \u201cIt\u2019s the history and shoes for me. I think there\u2019s a little strategy happening with the Wallabies from Eddie Jones that we haven\u2019t yet seen. I hope the Wallabies do well.\u201d<\/p>\n Watch all the action from <\/b>Rugby World Cup 2023<\/b> on the Home of Rugby, <\/b>Stan Sport<\/b>. Every match live, ad-free and on-demand in 4K UHD from September 9.<\/b><\/p>\n Sports news, results and expert commentary. <\/i><\/b>Sign up for our Sport newsletter<\/i><\/b>.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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