The Dairy Farmers Stadium is another newcomer to the international rugby union stage, although the Thuringowa venue did host the Queensland President’s XV tour match against the British and Irish Lions in June 2001.
Built in 1996, the Dairy Farmers Stadium has a capacity of 31,000 – just under half of which is seated – and is the home ground of the North Queensland Toyota Cowboys, who play in the National Rugby League.
The Dairy Farmers Stadium will stage three matches during Rugby World Cup 2003, all of them in Pool B, with the first of these being the Scotland and Japan encounter on 12 October.
Formerly known as Stockland Stadium, the other games to be played there, on 18 and 23 October, also feature the sole Asian representative Japan against France and Fiji.
How to get there:
The Dairy Farmers Stadium, which is situated 15 kilometres to the north-west of Townsville on the north east Queensland coast, is serviced by both buses and taxis with Sunbus services running every 10 minutes from the City Mall before a match.
Sunbus will also provide regular services from the major hotels and hostels in Townsville to the Dairy Farmers Stadium and back. A taxi with Townsville Taxis, the only company in Townsville, will cost around $25 from the city to the Stadium.
Townsville airport only has direct flights to Sydney and Brisbane among the host cities, with the latter the only one reachable direct by train – albeit a 24-hour journey.