Each year, "bushfires" or wildland fires devastate various forested and rural lands throughout the globe. Some of the most intense, wide-spread, and dangerous bushfires occur annually in the nation of Australia. 

In the 2019-2020 Australian bushfire season, over 2,000+ homes have been destroyed, 21,000,000+ acres of land burned, and 27+ fatalities including 3 volunteer firefighters. Not to mention, experts have recently estimated nearly 480 MILLION+ animals have perished. Australian weather experts noted that there have been record-breaking temperatures with an average temperature of 41.9C (107.4F). 

This petition, following the lead of similar sports charity initiatives calls upon World Rugby, Australia Rugby Union, and World Rugby President Bill Beaumont to organize an officially sanctioned international rugby charity match to be played to raise money, resources, and awareness to support the fight against the environmental devastation occurring in Australia. 

Charity rugby matches have occurred before in the private and local sense, even leading to a match at Mount Everest: 

"Teams battled chronic altitude sickness, fatigue, and exhaustion to compete in the match, which raised more than £250,000 for Wooden Spoon - a charity which supports disabled and disadvantaged children through rugby." (Sky News, 2019) 

Please support the people of Australia, the environment, and the animals that have been devastated in the wake of destruction by sharing/signing this petition on social media and email. Our goal is to get 100,000 rugby people around the globe to show the power of the rugby community. 

Sources:

• https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-51015536
• https://www.news.com.au/technology/environment/australian-troops-prepare-for-bushfire-emergency-evacuations-by-sea/live-coverage/cf3d149ec9bbb9b7eb808e663eec8a28
• https://7news.com.au/news/bushfires/australian-bushfires-burn-more-land-than-amazon-and-california-fires-combined-c-632478
• https://www.news.com.au/technology/environment/worst-bushfire-conditions-ever-seen-unprecedented-danger-is-a-firefighters-nightmare/news-story/04ebdcf6ae95c04923cd91dd2486aeed
• https://news.sky.com/story/mount-everest-charity-rugby-match-breaks-record-for-highest-ever-11713701
• PHOTO SOURCE:
  https://www.france24.com/en/20191219-australia-new-south-wales-state-of-emergency-bushfires-wildfires-temperatures-climate-change