All Blacks may face weakened English

The All Blacks look likely to play an England team well below full strength at Twickenham this year but that should not prevent a bumper pay day.

The New Zealand Rugby Union announced on Thursday it made $1.6 million from the first match of last year's Grand Slam tour against Wales in Cardiff.

That game was not originally part of the All Black itinerary and was played outside the IRB-designated test window. As a consequence, the NZRU was able to strike revenue-sharing terms with the Welsh and considerably swell its coffers.

The NZRU is hoping to strike a similar deal this year which will see the All Blacks take on England at Twickenham in the first week of November before playing IRB-scheduled tests against France twice and Wales.

The Rugby Football Union is keen to accommodate the All Blacks, as the game should be the first played at the rebuilt Twickenham. A sell out crowd at the newly-completed 82,000 capacity stadium will generate more than $2 million, assuming the NZRU is granted a share of the revenue similar to last year's Cardiff game.

The problem, however, is that despite both the NZRU and RFU being determined to stage the test, English clubs are reluctant to release their players that weekend.

The clubs and the RFU are locked in what has been at times a bitter power struggle, with the former vehemently opposing RFU efforts to have test players released for more national training camps and tests.

The clubs are not obliged to release their test stars for the game against the All Blacks, as it falls outside the IRB-designated window.

With a full Guinness Premiership programme scheduled for the same weekend as the test, club owners, who pay the bulk of the test players' salaries, are reportedly not budging on the issue. They want their best players in club colours, not test jerseys.

Some clubs may be persuaded to release but it seems increasingly likely, given the protracted negotiations between the clubs and the RFU, that the latter is failing to make a persuasive case. That would leave England picking a test team from players not deemed indispensable by their clubs.

NZRU chief executive Chris Moller would not comment on whether the game would definitely go ahead, saying both unions had agreed to say nothing until a formal announcement was made.

His comments suggest the test will be played, regardless of whether the English clubs release their best players.

Asked if that would have any positives for the All Blacks, Moller said: "There would be money in it for us. Obviously our preference is to play the strongest teams but that does not mean we are not going to contemplate playing teams when they are not at their strongest.

"England might choose to put out a squad that is trying to create depth. After all, some people might have said last year that the All Blacks didn't play their strongest teams against Wales and Ireland."

An announcement on whether the test will go ahead is expected shortly.