Sydney, Oct 05: Brothels across Australia anticipate bumper trade during the Rugby World Cup.
Fancy a ruck? Brothels across Australia are packing down for an anticipated bumper trade during the six-week Rugby World Cup, which tourism officials estimate will attract at least 40,000 overseas visitors, many of them well-heeled fans with plenty of money to spend. Rugby's showcase event kicks off on October 10 and the sex industry is determined to be ready from the first ruck to the final maul on November 22. One inner Sydney brothel kicked off its World Cup campaign with a party on Thursday night, and also plans to target arriving players and fans with girls bearing "Fancy a Ruck?" placards. Demand for domination services could expected to be high among wealthy, public school-educated British fans, he said. That meant rugby balls might not be the only objects made out of leather that are in high demand during the World Cup.

And it's not only working girls who can expect to be busy during the World Cup. While declining to elaborate on individual performances or positions, Australian coach Eddie Jones said competition was intense across the field, particularly in the tight five.



The 30-man squad was divided into two for the 40 minute simulated game, with strong winds at Coffs Harbour making playing conditions tough.



Rather than the "probable" side to face Argentina taking on the "possibles", Jones continued to mix and match the line-ups to put extra pressure on his players.



What also pleased Jones was the performance of some of the newcomers to the Australian squad, namely uncapped backrower John Roe and prop Al Baxter, who has only played 40 minutes of Test rugby.


He and fellow selectors, former Test players Brett Robinson and Roger Gould, will meet over the weekend to make some "tough decisions" to come up with what they hope is a winning formula for next Friday's match at Sydney's Telstra Stadium.


The line-up will be named on Tuesday. And Jones didn't think much of comments from his long-time rival, England coach Clive Woodward, that the Australians were the true tournament favourite, rather than the world No.1 or New Zealand.


Bureau Report