Wallabies fever is alive and kicking in Australia, too.
Given games are in the middle of the night, TV ratings have been remarkable for Australia’s games.
The Wallabies’ win over England, with a 6am kickoff, had a combined audience on FoxSports and Gem of 412,000 viewers.
The win over Wales (2am) drew 251,000 and the thriller against Scotland (2am) had an audience of 314,000.
They don’t go close to the million-plus figures the Wallabies got in friendlier Kiwi timezones at the last World Cup, but they’re big numbers for the graveyard shift and to put in context, many Super Rugby games don’t crack 100,000 viewers.
The Melbourne A-League derby got 84,000 at the weekend.
The home support hasn’t been missed by the Wallabies. Michael Cheika has made the bleary-eyed Aussie supporter a big motivation for his team and the players mention “people getting up at home” at almost every press conference as a big driving force.