The Rugby Football Union is "in discussions" with its New Zealand counterparts "about staging a Test match between England and the All Blacks at Twickenham in November -- which would set up a showdown between the two top-ranked sides a year before they are next due to meet," according to Gavin Mairs of the London TELEGRAPH. England will surpass New Zealand's world record of 18 successive Test victories if it beats Ireland on Saturday to claim a second successive Grand Slam. The autumn Test schedule has "already been agreed for this year," with England due to play against Australia, Argentina and Samoa during the int'l window. However, it is understood that the RFU asked the New Zealand Rugby Union if it would "consider playing England" outside of the int'l window -- on Nov. 4, a date that New Zealand was "due to play the Barbarians at Twickenham" (TELEGRAPH, 3/15). In London, Gerard Meagher reported "it would come at a cost." Among the "sticking points" in discussions over the global calendar, the NZRU believes it deserves "greater financial incentives for playing in the northern hemisphere." As the potential fixture falls outside of the regular int'l window, the All Blacks would "potentially demand as much as a 50-50 split of the gate receipts," which at Twickenham would be approximately £3M ($3.7M). In September, RFU CEO Ian Ritchie "was not open to the idea of sharing gate receipts" (GUARDIAN, 3/15).
NO FRIDAYS: Mairs also reported the Six Nations board's "hopes of increasing the number of countries prepared to host Championship matches on Friday nights has suffered a fresh blow after the Welsh Rugby Union declared it was no longer prepared to stage fixtures at the Principality Stadium in that slot." The Cardiff venue has been "one of only two stadiums to host a Friday night match since they were introduced" in '09, along with the Stade de France in Paris. Chair Gareth Davies said the WRU made the decision, "primarily because of all the adverse criticism we do get. Coming into Cardiff is hellish on Friday anyway" (TELEGRAPH, 3/14).
WALLABIES IN JAPAN: REUTERS' Ian Ransom reported Japan will host Australia at Yokohama's Nissan Stadium, the venue of the 2019 Rugby World Cup final, "when the pair face off in the east Asian country for the first time in November." Japan coach Jamie Joseph said, "It's great that the very first test match for Nissan Stadium is against the Wallabies, who were the runners-up at Rugby World Cup 2015." The Wallabies play the Brave Blossoms on Nov. 4 before heading to Europe for their "traditional season-ending tour" (REUTERS, 3/15).
PACIFIC TRIPLEHEADER: The BBC reported England's Test against Samoa on May 6 will be the "headline event" of a Pacific tripleheader at Campbelltown Sports Stadium. England will play the mid-season game ahead of the World Cup in Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea, which starts in October. In addition, Fiji will play Tonga and Papua New Guinea faces the Cook Islands (BBC, 3/15).
