# 2008 Australia rugby union tour

The 2008 Australia rugby union tour was a series of seven matches played by the Australia national rugby union team in November–December 2008. The tour was preceded by a match against All Blacks for the Bledisloe Cup and closed with a match against Barbarian FC.

## Matches

| Date | Home team | Score | Away team | Venue | Status |
| 1 November | New Zealand | 19-14 | Australia | Hong Kong Stadium, So Kon Po, Hong Kong | Test match, Bledisloe Cup |
| 8 November | Italy | 20-30 | Australia | Stadio Euganeo, Padua | Test match |
| 15 November | England | 14-28 | Australia | Twickenham Stadium, London | Test match, Cook Cup |
| 22 November | France | 13-18 | Australia | Stade de France, Saint-Denis, Paris | Test match, Trophée des Bicentenaires |
| 29 November | Wales | 21-18 | Australia | Millennium Stadium, Cardiff | Test match, James Bevan Trophy |
| 3 December | Barbarian F.C. | 11-18 | Australia XV | Wembley Stadium, London | The Final Challenge, Olympic Rugby Centenary Celebration Match, Cornwall Cup |

### Bledisloe Cup match

A first match was played in Hong Kong against New Zealand. It was the fourth match between the two teams. Winning the match, the All Blacks tied the series (2–2) and retained the Bledisloe Cup.
* 1 November 2008
| New Zealand | 19–14 | Australia |
| Try: Sivivatu 41' McCaw 82' Pen: Carter 12', 23', 31' | report | Try: Mitchell 8' Mitchell 25' Con: Giteau 8', 25' |
* So Kon Po, Hong Kong Attendance: 40,000 Referee: Alan Lewis (Ireland)
| New Zealand | New Zealand | | Australia | Australia |
| Isaia Toeava | FB | 15 | FB | Adam Ashley-Cooper |
| Hosea Gear | W | 14 | W | Peter Hynes |
| Conrad Smith | C | 13 | C | Ryan Cross |
| Dan Carter | C | 12 | C | Stirling Mortlock (capt.) |
| Sitiveni Sivivatu | W | 11 | W | Drew Mitchell |
| Stephen Donald | FH | 10 | FH | Matt Giteau |
| Jimmy Cowan | SH | 9 | SH | Luke Burgess |
| Rodney So'oialo | N8 | 8 | N8 | Richard Brown |
| (capt.) Richie McCaw | F | 7 | F | George Smith |
| Jerome Kaino | F | 6 | F | Dean Mumm |
| Ali Williams | L | 5 | L | Nathan Sharpe |
| Brad Thorn | L | 4 | L | Mark Chisholm |
| Neemia Tialata | P | 3 | P | Al Baxter |
| Andrew Hore | H | 2 | H | Stephen Moore |
| Tony Woodcock | P | 1 | P | Benn Robinson |
| | | Replacements | | |
| Keven Mealamu | H | 16 | | Tatafu Polota-Nau |
| Greg Somerville | P | 17 | P | Matt Dunning |
| Anthony Boric | L | 18 | L | Phil Waugh |
| Adam Thomson | N8 | 19 | F | David Pocock |
| Piri Weepu | SH | 20 | | Sam Cordingley |
| Ma'a Nonu | FH | 21 | C | Berrick Barnes |
| Cory Jane | FB | 22 | | Lachie Turner |
| | | Coaches | | |
| Graham Henry | | | | Robbie Deans |

### In Italy

Against Italy, the Wallabies suffered the strong play of Italian forwards and the strong defence of "azzurri", winning the match also in the last 20 minutes, thanks to a try from Quade Cooper.
* 8 November 2008
| Italy | 20–30 | Australia |
| Try: Mi. Bergamasco 29' Pen: Marcato 6' 11' Orquera 52' 59' | report | Try: Turner 7' Cooper 71' Con: Giteau 72' Pen: Mortlock 2' Giteau 17' 38' 47' 50' 78' |
* Stadio Euganeo, Padua Attendance: 30,000 Referee: Bryce Lawrence (New Zealand)
| Italy | Italy | | Australia | Australia |
| Andrea Masi | FB | 15 | FB | Adam Ashley-Cooper |
| Kaine Robertson | W | 14 | W | Lachie Turner |
| Gonzalo Canale | C | 13 | C | Stirling Mortlock (capt.) |
| Gonzalo Garcia | C | 12 | C | Timana Tahu 62' |
| Mirco Bergamasco | W | 11 | W | Digby Ioane |
| 45' Andrea Marcato | FH | 10 | FH | Berrick Barnes 13' |
| 61' Pablo Canavosio | SH | 9 | SH | Luke Burgess |
| (capt.) Sergio Parisse | N8 | 8 | N8 | Richard Brown |
| Mauro Bergamasco | F | 7 | F | Phil Waugh |
| 73' Josh Sole | F | 6 | F | Dean Mumm |
| Marco Bortolami | L | 5 | L | Hugh McMeniman 73' |
| Carlo Del Fava | L | 4 | L | Mark Chisholm |
| Carlos Nieto | P | 3 | P | Matt Dunning |
| 50' Leonardo Ghiraldini | H | 2 | H | Stephen Moore |
| 50' Salvatore Perugini | P | 1 | P | Ben Alexander 73' |
| | | Replacements | | |
| 50' Fabio Ongaro | H | 16 | | Tatafu Polota-Nau |
| 50' Matías Agüero | P | 17 | P | Sekope Kepu 43' |
| Tommaso Reato | | 18 | L | Wycliff Palu 73' |
| 73' Alessandro Zanni | F | 19 | | David Pocock |
| 61' Giulio Toniolatti | SH | 20 | FH | Matt Giteau 13' |
| 45' Luciano Orquera | FH | 21 | C | Quade Cooper 62' |
| Matteo Pratichetti | | 22 | | James O'Connor |
| | | Coaches | | |
| Nick Mallett | | | | Robbie Deans |

### Against England

England offered a strong opposition in the first half, especially between the 35th and 39th minutes, and scored a try with Nick Easter and a penalty with Danny Cipriani, but the Aussies were always ahead thanks to the kicks of Giteau and Martlock, until a try of Adam Ashley-Cooper closed the match.
* 15 November 2008
| England | 14–28 | Australia |
| Try: Easter 35' Pen: Cipriani 39' 50' Drop: Armitage 21' | report | Try: Aslhey-Cooper 68' Con: Giteau 69' Pen: Giteau 2' 6' 27' 31' 53' 58' Mortlock 64' |
* Twickenham, London Attendance: 81,000 Referee: Marius Jonker (South Africa)
| England | | Australia |
| Delon Armitage | FB | 15 | FB | Adam Ashley-Cooper |
| Paul Sackey | W | 14 | W | Peter Hynes |
| Jamie Noon | C | 13 | C | Ryan Cross |
| Riki Flutey | C | 12 | C | Stirling Mortlock (capt.) |
| Ugo Monye | W | 11 | W | Drew Mitchell |
| 71' Danny Cipriani | FH | 10 | FH | Matt Giteau |
| 66' Danny Care | SH | 9 | SH | Luke Burgess |
| 59' Nick Easter | N8 | 8 | N8 | Richard Brown 45' |
| 64' Tom Rees | F | 7 | F | George Smith |
| Tom Croft | F | 6 | F | Hugh McMeniman 80' |
| 64' Tom Palmer | L | 5 | L | Nathan Sharpe |
| (capt.) Steve Borthwick | L | 4 | L | Mark Chisholm 65' |
| 54' 66' Phil Vickery | P | 3 | P | Al Baxter |
| 70' Lee Mears | H | 2 | H | Stephen Moore |
| 34' to 42' 66' Andrew Sheridan | P | 1 | P | Benn Robinson |
| | | Replacements | | |
| 70' Dylan Hartley | H | 16 | F | Tatafu Polota-Nau 80' |
| 32–42' 54' Matt Stevens | P | 17 | | Matt Dunning |
| 64' Simon Shaw | L | 18 | L | Dean Mumm 65' |
| 59' James Haskell | N8 | 19 | N8 | Wycliff Palu 45' |
| 64' Michael Lipman | F | 20 | | Sam Cordingley |
| 66' Harry Ellis | SH | 21 | | Quade Cooper |
| 71' Toby Flood | FH | 22 | | Digby Ioane |
| | | Coaches | | |
| Brian Ashton | | | | Robbie Deans |

### Against France

As in the two previous matches, Wallabies obtained victory thanks to a better second half. The try of Peter Hynes and a kick after France reached the 13–13 in the beginning of the second Half. On French Sie, Skrela missed five kicks.
* 22 November 2008
| France | 13–18 | Australia |
| Try: Penalty try 39' Con: Skrela 40' Pen: Skrela 48' Drop: Medard 51' | report | Try: Moore 31' Hynes 57' Con: Giteau 32' Pen: Giteau 28' 74' |
* Stade de France, Saint-Dennis Attendance: 70,000 Referee: Craig Joubert (South Africa)
| France | | Australia |
| Maxime Medard | FB | 15 | FB | Drew Mitchell |
| Julien Malzieu | W | 14 | W | Peter Hynes |
| 78' Yannick Jauzion | C | 13 | C | Adam Ashley-Cooper 75' |
| 35' Benoit Baby | C | 12 | C | Stirling Mortlock (capt.) |
| Cédric Heymans | W | 11 | W | Digby Ioane |
| 75' to 80' David Skrela | FH | 10 | FH | Matt Giteau |
| 77' Sebastien Tillous-Borde | SH | 9 | SH | Luke Burgess 64' |
| Imanol Harinordoquy | N8 | 8 | N8 | Wycliff Palu 59' |
| Fulgence Ouedraogo | F | 7 | F | George Smith |
| 69' Thierry Dusautoir | F | 6 | F | Dean Mumm |
| 42' (capt.) Lionel Nallet | L | 5 | L | Nathan Sharpe |
| Sébastien Chabal | L | 4 | L | Hugh McMeniman |
| 58' Nicolas Mas | P | 3 | P | Al Baxter |
| 56' Dimitri Szarzewski | H | 2 | H | Stephen Moore |
| Lionel Faure | P | 1 | P | Ben Alexander 64' |
| | | Replacements | | |
| 58' Benoit Lecouls | P | 16 | | Tatafu Polota-Nau |
| 56' Benjamin Kayser | H | 17 | P | Sekope Kepu 64' |
| 42' Romain Millo-Chluski | L | 18 | N8 | Mark Chisholm 59' |
| 69' Louis Picamoles | F | 19 | | David Pocock |
| 77' Julien Tomas | SH | 20 | SH | Sam Cordingley 64' |
| 35' Damien Traille | C | 21 | C | Quade Cooper 75' |
| 78' Alexis Palisson | W | 22 | | Lote Tuqiri |
| | | Coaches | | |
| Marc Lièvremont | | | | Robbie Deans |

### Against Wales

* 29 November 2008
| Wales | 21–18 | Australia |
| Try: S. Williams 3', Byrne 30' Con: S. Jones 31 Pen: S. Jones 28', 78' Drop: S. Jones 67' | report | Try: Chisolm 13', Ioane 80' Con: Gietau 14' Pen: Gietau 46' Drop: Giteau 24' |
* Millennium, Cardiff Attendance: 74,000 Referee: Alan Lewis (Ireland)
| Wales | | Australia |
| Lee Byrne | FB | 15 | FB | Drew Mitchell |
| Mark Jones | W | 14 | W | Peter Hynes 33' |
| Tom Shanklin | C | 13 | C | Ryan Cross |
| 17' Jamie Roberts | C | 12 | C | Stirling Mortlock (capt.) 2' |
| Shane Williams | W | 11 | W | Digby Ioane |
| Stephen Jones | FH | 10 | FH | Matt Giteau |
| Gareth Cooper | SH | 9 | SH | Luke Burgess |
| 61' Andy Powell | N8 | 8 | N8 | Richard Brown |
| Martyn Williams | F | 7 | F | Phil Waugh 62' |
| (capt.) Ryan Jones | F | 6 | F | Hugh McMeniman 69' |
| Alun Wyn Jones | L | 5 | L | Nathan Sharpe |
| Ian Gough | L | 4 | L | Mark Chisholm |
| Adam R. Jones | P | 3 | P | Al Baxter |
| Matthew Rees | H | 2 | H | Stephen Moore 27' to 37' 69' |
| Gethin Jenkins | P | 1 | P | Benn Robinson |
| | | Replacements | | |
| Richard Hibbard | | 16 | H | Adam Freier 69' |
| John Yapp | | 17 | | Matt Dunning |
| Luke Charteris | | 18 | F | Dean Mumm 69' |
| 61' Dafydd Jones | N8 | 19 | F | George Smith 62' |
| Martin Roberts | | 20 | | Sam Cordingley |
| James Hook | | 21 | C | Quade Cooper 2' |
| 17' Andrew Bishop | C | 22 | W | Lote Tuqiri 33' |
| | | Coaches | | |
| Warren Gatland | | | | Robbie Deans |

### Final match with Barbarians

Australia was approached by the British Olympic Association to play the Barbarians at Wembley Stadium on 3 December 2008. The match formed part of the BOA's programme of events to celebrate the centenary of the first London Olympic Games where Australia defeated a Great Britain (Cornwall) side in the final 32 – 3. In 1908 France were the defending Olympic champions, but when they withdrew from the event, leaving just Australia and Great Britain to contest the gold medal, it was then County champions Cornwall who took to the field to represent the host nation. Cornwall had already been defeated in Australia's earlier 31-match tour. Cornwall's 1908 contribution was also further recognised by the presentation of the Cornwall Cup to the winning captain at Wembley, with the players of the respective sides receiving gold or silver commemorative medals. The game was the first rugby union fixture to take place in the new Wembley Stadium, the old stadium having been last used for Wales' last gasp 32–31 victory over England in the then Five Nations in 1999.
* 3 December 2008
| Barbarians | 11–18 | Australia XV |
| Try: Collins 61 Pen: Montgomery 34' 38' | report | Try: Tuqiri 12' Turner 77' Con: O' Connor 13' Pen: O' Connoer 19' 22' |
* Wembley Stadium, London Attendance: 44,000 Referee: Chris White
| Barbarians | | Australia XV |
| 40' Percy Montgomery | FB | 15 | FB | James O'Connor 64' |
| Joe Rokocoko | W | 14 | W | Lote Tuqiri |
| 50' Rico Gear | C | 13 | C | Ryan Cross 57' |
| Jean de Villiers | C | 12 | C | Adam Ashley-Cooper |
| Bryan Habana | W | 11 | W | Digby Ioane |
| Frans Steyn | FH | 10 | FH | Quade Cooper |
| 59' Fourie du Preez | SH | 9 | SH | Brett Sheehan 50' |
| Schalk Burger | N8 | 8 | N8 | Richard Brown 46' |
| Richie McCaw | F | 7 | F | George Smith |
| Jerry Collins | F | 6 | F | Dean Mumm |
| 50' Johann Muller | L | 5 | L | Hugh McMeniman |
| Bakkies Botha | L | 4 | L | Mark Chisholm |
| 51' Census Johnston | P | 3 | P | Matt Dunning 46' |
| John Smit | H | 2 | H | Tatafu Polota-Nau 46' |
| 32' Federico Pucciariello | P | 1 | P | Sekope Kepu |
| | | Replacements | | |
| 59' Mark Regan | R | 16 | R | Adam Freier 46' |
| 32' Rodney Blake | R | 17 | R | Ben Alexander 46' |
| 50' Chris Jack | R | 18 | | Peter Kimlin |
| 51' Nick Köster | R | 19 | R | David Pocock 46' |
| 59' George Gregan | R | 20 | R | Luke Burgess 50' |
| 50' Ollie Smith | R | 21 | R | Lachie Turner 57' |
| 40' Shane Williams | R | 22 | R | Drew Mitchell 64' |
| | | Coaches | | |
| | | | | Robbie Deans |