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AAP
By Jim Morton
September 18, 2014, 2:36 pm
The Australian Rugby Union is attempting to lure the British and Irish Lions back Down Under for a money-spinning kick-off to their 2017 tour of New Zealand.
ARU chief executive Bill Pulver has revealed bold plans for a one-off Lions blockbuster which would go some of the way to recouping lost revenue from next year's World Cup season.
The Lions provided a massive cash injection to the code last year when they played nine games around the country to packed houses, including a drought-breaking 2-1 Test series victory over the Wallabies.
The tourists - combining the best players from England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales - started their 2013 campaign against the Barbarians in Hong Kong, the home of major sponsor HSBC, and Pulver is keen for a similar opener in Australia.
"That's one of the conversations we've been having with them (Lions officials)," he told AAP.
"If they want preliminary games outside New Zealand then we would be a wonderful location for them.
"We would take it in a heartbeat."
The Lions' last tour to New Zealand in 2005 was a forgettable affair, whitewashed 3-0 in a one-sided series and also controversially losing captain Brian O'Driscoll in the opening exchanges, and the four unions are looking closely at ensuring their best preparations.
Pulver admitted a Wallabies-Lions clash was unlikely while Super Rugby was being held but other options were being considered.
The cash-strapped ARU need to be inventive as they face extra financial strain next year with just two home Test matches - down from seven - scheduled due to the international season revolving around the World Cup, to be held in England in September and October.
They will host the All Blacks in Sydney and South Africa or Argentina, in a Rugby Championship encounter, in Brisbane.
The one silver lining for the 2015 domestic calendar is that, with the loss of the June Test window, Super Rugby will run unbroken from mid-February through to a July 4 final, instead of a momentum-halting three-week break.
The competition will also make a feature out of next year's Anzac centenary by scheduling five matches between Australasian rivals around April 25.
In releasing the draw on Thursday, governing body SANZAR revealed three trans-Tasman clashes, plus Australian and New Zealand derby matches, as part of the 100th anniversary of the Gallipoli landing.
Defending champions NSW will take on the Melbourne Rebels at ANZ Stadium on Anzac Day in a showpiece battle for the Weary Dunlop Shield.
The Western Force meet the Chiefs in Hamilton and the Brumbies play the Highlanders in Canberra the day before, while Queensland host the Hurricanes on April 26.
https://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/sp...s-tour-opener/
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Make the Lions tour the Pacific Islands... or are they afraid to go back to Fiji?![]()
Japan and the Pacific Islands for Aussie Super 9's!
Let's have one of these in WA! Click this link: Saitama Super Arena - New Perth Stadium?
And let me guess where it will be played......
Geez Mr Pulver, you really are short on cash.
no guessing involved this time. The biggest ground in australia is the MCG @ 100,024 - but i cant see the AFL or the VCA giving the ARU permission to use it.
so next option is stadium australia @ 83,500
source: www.wikipedia.com
when the name of the game (pardon the pun) is to try and get extra cash to recoup the lost revenue from missing out on games during the world cup next year. the location picks itself without too much speculation
Last edited by jono; 18-09-14 at 18:03.
An MCG as one-off would be a great thing.
In an ideal world, they could play the NZ Maori in Perth. That would fill the new stadium, if it existed.
Japan and the Pacific Islands for Aussie Super 9's!
Let's have one of these in WA! Click this link: Saitama Super Arena - New Perth Stadium?
i'd go see a rugby game at the g
I just wish they could get a capacity crowd there, usually the members boycott rugby.
Japan and the Pacific Islands for Aussie Super 9's!
Let's have one of these in WA! Click this link: Saitama Super Arena - New Perth Stadium?
give them until 0900 on the day before game day or they get opened up to the public
Japan and the Pacific Islands for Aussie Super 9's!
Let's have one of these in WA! Click this link: Saitama Super Arena - New Perth Stadium?
Also - ANZ stadium has some merit behind it. There was >83,000 people there last time the lions were there.
Well to be fair, Jo'n did take the Bledisloe to Melbourne in the first place; and Hong Kong.
But yeah, as something unique, the Lions at a capacity MCG would be something worthwhile. But can the Wallabies actually play them? Isn't Super Rugby on?
The other thing I was thinking of though, is wouldn't the NZRU complain about Australia trying to hijack the tour? They'll probably try to say we did the same thing to them with the 2003 world cup, or something like that? I'm concerned about having more cracks appear in SANZAR.
Last edited by chibi; 18-09-14 at 19:13.
Japan and the Pacific Islands for Aussie Super 9's!
Let's have one of these in WA! Click this link: Saitama Super Arena - New Perth Stadium?
Did the ARU whinge when the tour opener was in Hong Kong last year?
Have a bye weekend in the Super Rugby comp and make it a combined ARU/SARU side to play the Lions?
Maybe host a World XV or something like that? Pretty sure the Boks played a World XV earlier this year?
The ARU didn't, no. But then, this isn't the ARU we're talking about is it?![]()
Japan and the Pacific Islands for Aussie Super 9's!
Let's have one of these in WA! Click this link: Saitama Super Arena - New Perth Stadium?