Islanders side likely for June match

Samoa's proposed October test against the All Blacks in Apia is expected to be cancelled, with New Zealand more likely to play a combined Samoa, Fiji and Tonga side in June. That team, dubbed the Islanders, is also expected to play a test against the Wallabies, along with some midweek games in Australia.

The Wallabies had been scheduled to play Fiji in Suva in October.

South Africa were also meant to play Tonga in Nuku'alofa in October, but it is not known whether that will go ahead or also be replaced by a match against the Islanders.

Finding an earlier hole in the calendar for the two or three tests for the Islanders could be difficult, but they are likely to be before the start of the Tri-Nations in mid-July.

The All Blacks play Argentina in Hamilton on June 26, the same weekend as Australia play England and South Africa tackle Wales in home fixtures.

Rugby Union deputy chief executive Steve Tew said it was possible the Islanders match could be played before the first test against England in Dunedin on June 12.

However, a better fit was for the match to be played in the lead-up to the All Blacks' opening Tri-Nations test against Australia in Wellington on July 17. No venues had been confirmed for such a match.

Whether it goes ahead is far from certain as the Islanders are still a conceptual team with a coach yet to be appointed.

Auckland-based Manu Samoa Rugby general manager Julie Kennedy said there was doubt that the Islanders would be ready to play in June, and conceded that the individual countries would struggle to honour the fixtures.

It was expensive to host tests in Apia, Suva and Nuku'alofa, with the visiting team paying to get there but the hosts covering all other costs.

"There's no TV coverage in Apia so if you are trying to offer something to your sponsors you have to take the TV crews up there," Kennedy said.

That is why the All Blacks are yet to play in Apia, Suva or Nuku'alofa, as Samoa, Fiji and Tonga believe they can make more money from playing those tests in New Zealand.

Samoa are yet to decide if they will host Scotland in June, as scheduled in the IRB's fixtures list.

Kennedy said the Scotland test would proceed only "if we can get the numbers to stack up."

The game could also clash with Samoa's World Cup qualifying tests against Tonga (in Apia) and Fiji (in Suva), although the dates for those games are not fixed.

They are likely to be played in June, with Samoa hoping to play Wellington in a warm-up game, possibly on June 5.

Wellington union chairman Joe Pope said they were keen for the match to go ahead, but nothing had been finalised.

- NZPA