Wallaby Bar ready to be raided

SYDNEY - The good news is the Bledisloe Cup and Tri-Nations trophies are on the move. The bad news is they're only going across Sydney Harbour - not the Tasman - for the time being.

The Australian Rugby Union will happily let the silverware out of their grasp at the union's North Sydney headquarters to allow it to take centre stage at a new rugby theme bar in Darling Harbour.

The Wallaby Bar opens at Cockle Bay in June. The first venue of its ilk in Australia, it is fully endorsed and licensed by the ARU and will feature most of the trophies the Wallabies have accumulated in recent years, including the Bledisloe Cup, the Tri-Nations Trophy, the Mandela Plate and the Tom Richards Cup. There was no mention of the World Cup.

Eight state-of-the-art plasma screens will showcase multi-media displays, using photos and footage sourced from the ARU archives.

"It will be a great place for people to meet before and after a match, or will be the perfect venue to watch a match live if you aren't going to the game," ARU managing director John O'Neill said.

An honour roll will be mounted at the back of the bar, listing every match result since Australia's first test in 1899.

- NZPA