THE Wallabies will play Ireland in the last ever June Test series next year.
The Australian Rugby Union will announce a three-match series against the Irish at a press conference on Wednesday, where Ireland’s president Michael Higgins will be on hand for the formalities.
It has been known that Ireland would tour in Australia in 2018 for a number of years but not the length of the series. The three matches have been locked in, and will be held in Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne.
With Ireland currently ranked No.4 in the world — one spot behind the Wallabies — the series promises to be a hotly contested affair.
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The Irish are the last national team to beat the All Blacks, having knocked them off in Chicago last year.
Armed with stars like Sean O’Brien, Connor Murray, Jonny Sexton and Peter O’Mahony, Ireland are grouped in the “genuine contender” category for the 2019 Rugby World Cup.
They’ll be certainly confident of snapping an almost-40 year drought in Australia. Ireland have only won three times in 14 games in Australia; the last being in 1979.
The Ireland tour will also bring down a curtain on the maligned June Test window in Australia, with no inbound tour in the 2019 World Cup year and a new global calendar coming into effect in 2020.
The new calendar will see northern nations touring south in July, allowing Super Rugby to finish a full season without stopping.
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