The Queensland Reds rugby union team will be training and bunking down in Bowral this week in the lead up to their Friday clash against the ACT Brumbies at Viking Park in Canberra. Had they not been able to find lodging here The Australian Rugby Union (ARU) would have been forced to relocate the game from Canberra to Wollongong's WIN Stadium because there was a lack of accommodation for the teams.

Minor premiers, the ACT Brumbies had won the right to host the finals clash but Canberra's annual Floriade festival threatened to book out every spare room in the city, leaving both teams out in the cold.

But Bowral has arisen as the unlikely host for the Queensland Rugby Union team.

Full story: SHN, Wednesday, September 27, 2006.