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When the NFL announced it was headed to Australia for the first time ever, the first question on many fans’ minds was, «How’s that going to work?»

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As it turns out, the time zone disparity is barely an issue. While the NFL’s London games are played in the morning back in the eastern time zone, the difference between U.S. time zones and the time in Melbourne is so massive that the game between the Rams and 49ers can actually air in primetime back in the United States.

The travel logistics are a different story. A 15-hour flight is something that can’t be worked around, and each team is taking a vastly different approach to their travel plans before the key NFC West showdown.

Here’s what you need to know about the travel plans for the Rams and 49ers before their game in Australia.

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Rams vs. 49ers travel plans for NFL Australia game

The 49ers are taking a fairly traditional approach to international travel before an NFL game, as they flew to Australia on the night of Sept. 2, landing on the morning of Sept. 4 local time. That gave San Francisco a full week to adjust to the vastly different time zone, and it allowed the 49ers to run practices in Australia before playing on the morning of Sept. 11 — or the night of Sept. 10 by U.S. time zones.

The Rams are approaching their travel plans much differently. L.A. left Tuesday night on a 15-hour flight to land Thursday morning local time for a game that will be played on Friday morning in Melbourne. That makes Wednesday a «lost day» entirely and gives the Rams only about 27 hours from the moment they land in Melbourne to kickoff.

The 49ers’ logic is understandable. Kyle Shanahan wants his team to have as much time as possible to adjust to the time difference and the new environment so it doesn’t have a noticeable impact on gameday. Teams that play in Europe often head over earlier than they would for a typical stateside game to allow players to get acclimated.

The Rams have their reasons, too. «We felt like staying in our rhythm and routine,» Sean McVay told the Orange County Register, explaining that every detail is «geared towards what we think is best for the players.»

The decision is aimed at eliminating the need for players to acclimate at all. Teams don’t typically play games in the morning, so by landing in Australia so soon before the game, the Rams are hoping to keep their players’ body clocks geared toward where they would be later in the day. 

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The Rams, however, might nearly spend more time in the air than actually on the ground in Australia. They plan to head back to Los Angeles directly after the game, so it will be in-and-out of the country, as opposed to the 49ers, who are spending a week in Melbourne.

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When did 49ers arrive in Australia?

The 49ers arrived in Australia in the early morning hours of Sept. 4 local time, or on the afternoon of Sept. 3 in most U.S. time zones. That’s almost exactly a week before kickoff, which gave San Francisco’s players time to adjust to the significant time difference.

How far is San Francisco from Melbourne?

San Francisco and Melbourne are just under 8,000 miles apart, making it a long journey to Australia’s southern coast.

San Francisco to Melbourne flight time

It took 15 hours and six minutes for the 49ers to fly from San Francisco to Melbourne. Unfortunately, there is just no way around an arduous journey to Australia, even for NFL teams on the west coast. The 49ers tried to get ahead of that by flying out a week early.

San Francisco vs. Melbourne time difference

Melbourne is 17 hours ahead of San Francisco. That means what will be a 5:35 p.m. kickoff on Thursday, Sept. 10 for fans on the American west coast will actually be a 10:35 a.m. kickoff on Friday, Sept. 11 in Melbourne.

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When did Rams arrive in Australia?

How far is Los Angeles from Melbourne?

Los Angeles is also just under 8,000 miles away from Melbourne.

Los Angeles to Melbourne flight time

The flight from Los Angeles to Melbourne comes in at just under 15 hours, similar to the 15-hour, six-minute journey the 49ers had. There is no real difference in travel time for the Rams and 49ers, but because L.A. arranged its plans so differently than San Francisco, the game will be viewed partly as a battle of logistics. 

Los Angeles vs. Melbourne time difference

Like San Francisco, Los Angeles is 17 hours behind Melbourne. A 5:35 p.m. kickoff on Thursday, Sept. 10 for fans on the American west coast will actually be a 10:35 a.m. kickoff on Friday, Sept. 11 in Melbourne.

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