KEY POINTS:
The All Blacks are preparing another grand slam rugby tour of the British Isles next year complete with midweek games against top European clubs, England's Daily Mail newspaper reported today.
As well as fitting extra matches against England and Wales into next season's schedule, they are investigating the multi-million dollar reward of taking test rugby to new frontiers.
In a joint venture with Australia, the New Zealand Rugby Union (NZRU) is reportedly keen to tap into a new global market by staging a test against the Wallabies in Hong Kong, either en route to London next year or on their way home in November.
The newspaper suggested next season's end-of-year tour would also include midweek games against leading Heineken Cup club sides Munster, Stade Francais, Leicester or Wasps.
The NZRU would neither confirm nor deny reports which first surfaced last weekend saying, via a statement, they were "considering a wide range of options".
However, The Daily Mail said an initiative, confirmed in Sydney on Monday by Australian Rugby Union (ARU) chief executive John O'Neill, offers the possibility of American cities like Los Angeles and New York hosting similar matches involving England, France, Ireland and Wales.
O'Neill, the driving force behind the 2003 World Cup before leaving to supervise the success of the Socceroos in Germany last year, returned to his old job three weeks ago with fresh ideas about broadening rugby's global dimension.
"Australia and New Zealand are exploring opportunities and a match in Hong Kong is one of them," he confirmed.
"We are at a very preliminary stage but we have to make some very big statements about where rugby wants to be in 20 or 30 years. If you want to spread the gospel into new territories, particularly Asia, then the All Blacks playing the Wallabies in Hong Kong is a great thing for world rugby," he said.
"There is nothing wrong with the World Cup, the Six Nations, the Tri-Nations and Super 14 but the problem is with the June and November test windows and how to avoid under-strength teams coming down here at the end of the European season.
"They have got to be more meaningful, same as when we go north in November. I've been out of rugby for 3-1/2 years but nothing has changed in that respect."
For that reason, the International Board (IRB) has to be more receptive to new ventures than they have been. They vetoed a triangular series between England, South Africa and Australia at Twickenham from taking place in November 2001.
"I thought that was a fantastic way of turning a number of one-off matches into something with real meaning," said O'Neill, confident the IRB will take a different view on the Hong Kong enterprise.
"Having spent time in another sport, I think they would be hard-pressed to object. I am not prepared to talk about the financial aspects, other than to say that it would be rewarding."
- NZPA
