Preview: Barbarians v Wallabies
What: Wallabies Spring tour of United Kingdom and Europe
When: November 2-November 30
Where: England, Wales, France and Ireland.
Full tour schedule:
Barbarians v Wallabies, Twickenham, London, Sunday, November 2 @ 1.30am (AEDT).
Wales v Wallabies, Millennium Stadium, Cardiff, Sunday, November 9 @ 1.30am (AEDT).
France v Wallabies, Stade de France, Paris, Sunday, November 16 @ 7.00am (AEDT).
Ireland v Wallabies, AVIVA Stadium, Dublin, Sunday, November 23 @ 3.30am (AEDT).
England v Wallabies, Twickenham, London, Sunday, November 30 @ 1.30am (AEDT).
Wallabies 33-man tour squad:
Adam Ashley-Cooper, Ben Alexander, Sam Carter, Quade Cooper, Tom English, Saia Fainga'a, Tetera Faulkner, Israel Folau, Bernard Foley, Will Genia, Kyle Godwin, James Hanson, Michael Hooper, Rob Horne, James Horwill, Luke Jones, Sekope Kepu, Tevita Kuridrani, Christian Lealii'fano, Josh Mann-Rea, Ben McCalman, Sean McMahon, Nick Phipps, Benn Robinson, Rob Simmons, Will Skelton, James Slipper, Henry Speight, Joe Tomane, Matt Toomua, Nic White.
World Cup warm-up:
The Tests against Wales and England are a dress rehearsal for the 2015 Rugby World Cup, with the Wallabies drawn in Pool A alongside the Welsh and Poms. Fiji and Uruguay are the other teams in the so-called group of death.
The Michael Cheika factor:
Michael Cheika takes over the Wallabies reins from Ewen McKenzie, with his first match in charge of the national side against the Barbarians on November 1. The Waratahs coach signed a three-year deal just two days prior to the squad's departure on Friday, October 24. McKenzie fell on his sword following Saturday's 29-28 loss to the All Blacks after losing the support of his players, essentially over his appointment of Wallabies Business Manager Di Patston. Cheika is the only coach to win both a European Cup (with Leinster in 2009) and Super Rugby title (with the Waratahs in 2014).
Kurtley Beale:
The Wallabies bad boy will face a Code of Conduct hearing on Friday, 24 October just as his team-mates are in the air en route to London. Beale allegedly sent lewd text messages about Patston to several team-mates in June. If found guilty his career in Australian rugby will almost certainly be over. The 25-year-old could attract interest from NRL clubs but his most likely destination is French rugby should he leave Australia.