In the end, the great experiment proved a qualified success. Australia and South Africa played their friendly international at Loftus Road and 15 000 mostly expats turned up and paid their £12 to £15 for the privilege of seeing their national sides.
Of course, Loftus Road, the home Fulham and Queens Park Rangers share in west London, barely holds 20 000. And this is football, not rugby. Plans to stage the Springboks versus the Wallabies would probably draw 70 000 to Twickenham.
As a game though, it wasn’t great. Especially for the Union Jack Japies who turned up in their thousands in Springbok shirts. The only goal was scored by the Socceroos after 19 minutes, when Marco Bresciano of Parma volleyed home a lobbed cross from Mark Viduka from 12m.
South Africa had a couple of early chances, fluffed them both, then Bradley Carnell had to save a Scott Chipperfield effort off the line.
This was a strong Aussie side, with Viduka from Leeds and Harry Kewell of Liverpool next to him up front — neither of their clubs would have been pleased to see them putting all that effort in for their country with vital Premiership matches coming up.
England’s former under-19 boss Stuart Baxter knows exactly what he wants as he prepares for life in one of football’s hottest seats, as coach of Bafana Bafana.
The man who won club titles in Sweden, Norway and Japan says: ‘My goal is to put South Africa up there in the top fifteen in the Fifa rankings … And I want the boys to be the number-one team in Africa.”
Baxter jetted to Johannesburg to take up the reins on a two-year contract after Tuesday’s defeat. Baxter and caretaker boss Styles Phumo disappeared quickly after the game, but he had already made it clear what his plans are.
Baxter said: ‘I won’t be bringing in any technical people from overseas if we have the right coaches in South Africa. I don’t want to make Bafana into a clone of English football. I want to pick up the culture of South African football and adapt to it.”
‘I just hope we can get in another good friendly before we play Cape Verde in June. I don’t know much about our first World Cup qualifying opposition! But I do do my homework. I can guarantee South Africa will know the strengths and weaknesses of Cape Verde. We will be ready as never before for them — and then for Ghana in Accra.â€