Sport
International sport bonanza! Aussies take on the world
Australia is known for its love of sport and over the coming months our various national teams will have the opportunity to prove our standing as one of the world’s greatest sporting nations with major international matches coming to a stadium near you!
Representing your country on home soil is the pinnacle for most team sports and our rugby league, hockey, soccer and cricket national teams will all be in action over the coming months.
The international sports bonanza kicks off with the Kangaroos taking on the Kiwis at Hunter Stadium. The rugby league Test match between Australia and New Zealand will mark Mal Maninga’s first match as head coach as his side embarks on preparations for the Four Nations as well as the 2017 Rugby League World Cup to be held in Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea.
The match between the two fierce rugby league rivals is part of Representative Round and will take place on May 6 at Newcastle’s Hunter Stadium. The Jillaroos, Australia’s women’s league side, will play New Zealand’s Kiwi Ferns in a curtain raiser to the event.
On top of the trans-Tasman Test match, Parramatta’s Pirtek Stadium will host the Pacific Double Header event on May 7, which will feature Samoa, Tonga, Fiji and Papua New Guinea.
The Kangaroos are one of Australia’s most successful national teams and they are the current title holders of the Rugby League World Cup.
Elsewhere, our World Champion hockey team, the Kookaburras, will play Great Britain in a three match Test Series, the side’s last competitive hit out before landing in Rio for the upcoming Olympic Games.
The kookaburras are one of Australia’s most successful sporting teams and their incredible talents will be on display during two matches at Narrogin Hockey Stadium on May 21 and 22 and at the Perth Hockey Stadium on May 24, in what may just be the deciding fixture.
The Kookaburras are one of Australia’s most consistent sporting teams, earning medals in the past six summer Olympic Games (that is every Olympics since 1992).
Australia and Great Britain have shared a significant rivalry throughout the years with the two sides playing for the bronze medal at the 2012 Olympic Games, which were held in London. The Kookaburras were victorious, beating GB 3-1. The visiting side will surely be out for revenge when they hit Australian shores to take on the local side in the three-match series in May.
In June, the Socceroos will play Greece at Etihad Stadium in what should be an excellent test for our round ball national side as they embark on a series of World Cup qualifiers. The Socceroos are the kings of Asia and the current Asian Cup champions and Greece boasts a very competitive national side, which once took out the European Championship.
Greece has not played in Australia since 2006 so it is an excellent opportunity for Australia’s soccer team to ply their trade against a strong European contender. The Socceroos will travel to the UK in late May to take on England in a ‘friendly’ before their matches on home soil against Greece.
Following the matches against the European sides, the Socceroos will again be playing the best teams in Asia in a bid to qualify for the 2018 World Cup. Their group is tough with the team having to take on Saudi Arabia, Japan, Iraq, Thailand and United Arab Emirates.
Etihad Stadium has a long and proud history of hosting some of the best soccer clubs in the world. The venue is fantastic for the round ball game and the atmosphere under the roof is always electric! If you love the world game, Australia v Greece is definitely one match you want to be at.
Later in the year, one of Australia’s most successful national teams will be fighting it out against South Africa and Pakistan throughout the 2016/17 Test series as part of the summer of cricket. The Australian cricket team always attracts plenty of attention and all eyes will be on the side when they play South Africa at the WACA in Perth for the first event of the 2016/17 series. The five-day Test match will be played from November 3-7.
The Gabba will also welcome a Test match under lights, with the venue set to host its first day/night Test when Australia plays Pakistan from December 15-19. The pink ball was used in the 2015/16 summer of cricket and the experimental match was a massive success with fans and critics alike.
Australia is currently the number 1 Test playing nation in the world, but South Africa and Pakistan are breathing down their necks, in third and fourth places respectively. The Test series between the three sides promises to be hard fought and highly entertaining.
The WACA and Gabba will also host One Day Internationals (ODI) between Australia and Pakistan in January. The Aussies will also be in action against New Zealand (ODI series) and Sri Lanka (Twenty20 series) throughout the summer.
And buying tickets for sporting events throughout Australia has never been so easy or engaging. Ticketmaster’s market-leading Interactive Seat Maps (ISM) make it a breeze to select the best seats in the house within your budget and preferences.
ISMs are extremely popular with ticket purchasers as they can buy off a map of live inventory and also filter results by seating section and price, which means patrons can be sure they are getting the best available seats.
ISMs are live for most Ticketmaster venues including enormous stadiums which have tens of thousands of seats for sale. ISMs are currently in use for Australia v New Zealand at Hunter Stadium as well as Australia v Greece at Etihad Stadium. Cricket matches at the Gabba and WACA will also have ISMs enabled.
Sports fans already have an amazingly full calendar of events for 2016 and given Australia’s passion for international contests, you can bet it will get even fuller by year’s end. Watching the best talent in Australian sport take on counterparts from all over the world is an enormous thrill and we are lucky enough to get to watch our sports teams at some of the best stadiums and venues anywhere in the world.
If you love sport, get set for an amazing year of international entertainment and excitement!
Upcoming International Matches
Rugby League
Australia v New Zealand
Hunter Stadium – May 6
Click here to purchase tickets.
Pacific Test Double Header
Pirtek Stadium – May 7
Click here to purchase tickets.
Hockey
Kookaburras v Great Britain
Narrogin Hockey Stadium – May 21 & 22
Perth Hockey Stadium – May 24
Click here to purchase tickets.
Soccer
Socceroos v Greece
Etihad Stadium – June 7
Click here to purchase tickets.
Cricket
Test: Australia v South Africa
WACA – November 3-7
Tickets on sale from May 31.
Test: Australia v Pakistan
Gabba – December 15-19
Tickets on sale from May 31.
ODI: Australia v Pakistan
Gabba – January 13
Tickets on sale from May 31.
ODI: Australia v Pakistan
WACA – January 19
Tickets on sale from May 31.
