Schedule of tours to NZ until 2012 released

New Zealand's schedule for visiting teams over the next eight years has been confirmed by the International Rugby Board (IRB).

The itinerary for home tours up to 2012 was confirmed at an IRB meeting in Dublin on Wednesday.

After the Lions make a 10-game trip next year the All Blacks will host Ireland (two tests) and the Pacific Islanders in 2006, France (two) and Italy in 2007, England (two) and Ireland in 2008, Wales (two) and Argentina in 2009, France (two) and England in 2010, Scotland (two) and Italy in 2011 and England (two) and Wales in 2012.

New Zealand Rugby Union (NZRU) deputy chief executive Steve Tew told NZPA the schedule had been on the drawing board for the past 15 months and the final version was the best for New Zealand rugby.

After making sporadic visits here over the past few years, current world champions England feature heavily with five tests.

France play four, while at the other end of the scale Italy and Scotland have been allocated only two matches each, with Argentina touring just once for a solitary fixture.

Tew said the playing agenda could be changed to accommodate extra tests or mid-week matches if both unions agreed.

He also confirmed the schedule was subject to change if the proposed biennial nine nations rugby tournament involving the Tri-Nations and the Six Nations sides is introduced as speculated in 2006.

The All Blacks itinerary to the northern hemisphere over the same period had not been confirmed, but Tew said there was unanimous agreement among the IRB delegates, including NZRU chief executive Chris Moller, on a global season which would see the windows for domestic and international rugby coincide in every nation.

Yesterday it was confirmed that the All Blacks will finish their 2004 season against the Barbarians at Twickenham -- a match with which could add over a million dollars to the NZRU coffers -- after playing one-off tests against Wales in Cardiff on November 20 and France in Paris a week later.

- NZPA