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THE Wallabies brand is in free-fall with Saturday's clash against France expected to shatter the record for smallest Test crowd at Suncorp Stadium.
The Wallabies snubbed Will Genia and now Queensland fans are returning the favour.
In a poor result for rugby union, only 29,000 fans are budgeted for the Test against France at Suncorp Stadium, which would be 11,000 fewer than the previous low for a Wallabies game at the ground.
The crowd between two major rugby nations will be smaller than the 32,000 attendance that watched the Broncos play Manly on Sunday.
It will even be smaller than the 2003 World Cup crowd for Fiji's clash against the USA, which attracted 30,990 spectators.
The Reds' poor form and the absence of star Quade Cooper is partly to blame but ultimately rugby is struggling to capture hearts this year.
The scheduling has not helped, with an understrength France arriving in the middle of a State of Origin series and on the eve of the football World Cup in Brazil.
The Wallabies are out of sight and mind at the Sanctuary Cove resort on the Gold Coast and the game only has a six-day build up.
Rugby fans are also saving their cash for the Bledisloe Cup later this year which will sell out Suncorp Stadium.
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Ewen McKenzie's first Wallabies team for the year has only two Queenslanders in the starting side – prop James Slipper and second rower Rob Simmons – while James Horwill is on the bench.
It is understood the 29,000 crowd is a projection based on good ticket sales in the next four days and a solid walk-up.
Genia's absence from the side means the walk-up crowd is likely to be poor, as Genia is one of Brisbane's most loved sports stars.
Former Wallabies coach John Connolly said while the Reds' poor form was a factor, the economy was the real reason people were staying at home.
"The major factors are cost of tickets plus food and drink and also the fact people are struggling with their budgets at the moment and would rather have a cheaper night watching at home,'' Connolly said.
"The first Origin game was only sold out in the last couple of days. I never thought I would see an Origin game at Suncorp not sold out in the first five minutes.
"The Reds form is a part of it but league and union are both struggling to get the price of tickets right.''
The ARU is offering a "Go With Mates Pack'' for Saturday night which sees tickets bought in bulk discounted.
The cheapest ticket for the Test starts at $49 and prices are generally much cheaper than last week's Origin, which drew a crowd of 52,111.
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