KEY POINTS:
New Zealand is not talking but the All Blacks are expected to be the last Tri-Nations rival for England at Twickenham in November.
If that match, which falls outside the allotted test window, is ratified by the International Rugby Board it will assist New Zealand's aim to mount
another Grand Slam challenge after their offshore test against the Wallabies in Hong Kong.
England revealed they expect approval this week to play the Pacific Islands then the three Southern Hemisphere superpowers in successive November tests. The All Blacks are inked in as the final foe in a match which would see the visitors receive a more than $3 million share of the revenue.
Under a new deal between the RFU and the English clubs, an extra test can be played in November but it involves IRB sanction and financial dividends which the NZRU is keen to latch on to. The All Blacks are being primed to play Scotland, Ireland and Wales on the previous weekends to complete the Grand Slam itinerary.
There are also strategies to take a squad of about 45 players and extra coaching staff to handle a possible midweek schedule against major European clubs such as Leicester, Munster, Stade Francais and perhaps a midweek test against Italy.
Chief executive Steve Tew refused to be drawn on any details this week but did confirm the NZRU wanted a busy end-of-year programme for the All Blacks which would probably start with the Hong Kong test against the Wallabies en route to the Northern Hemisphere.
Hopes for an expanded end-of-year trip surfaced when the NZRU announced that the NZ Maori side rather than the Junior All Blacks would play in this year's Pacific Nations Cup. That would allow Junior coaches Colin Cooper and Ian Foster to assist with an expanded All Blacks tour party and schedule. Tew suggested that details might be sorted by the end of next month and any other speculation would be counterproductive.
* Meanwhile, in announcing Troy Flavell as the Blues captain again, coach David Nucifora suggested his side was in strong shape to cope with the Super 14. After all their training they needed to play and that demand would be helped by a practice game tomorrow against promising players from the Blues region. A great deal of the off-season training had been about coping with the experimental laws which will be used in the Super 14.
"We all know the first few weeks are going to be a learning period for everyone - the players, the coaches, the referees included," Nucifora said.
"We did a session before Christmas with Steve [Walsh] and that's why we've asked him to do the game for us on Friday as well."
Retaining Flavell as captain had been an easy decision. "He did an outstanding job last season. You only had to look at Troy's performances to see how well the captaincy sat with him."
