Edwards guarded over clash of champions proposal

Feb 28 2008 by Our Correspondent, South Wales Echo

WALES legend Gareth Edwards has reacted with caution over the International Rugby Board’s plans to stage a one-off match between the Six Nations and Tri-Nations champions

The IRB will discuss plans to stage a game between the winners of the premier international tournaments in the northern and southern hemispheres when the governing body meets with rugby union’s leading nations in Hong Kong on Sunday.

Hong Kong Rugby Football Union executive director Allan Payne has already indicated they would be extremely interested in staging any clash.

Hong Kong, who are set to host a Test match between Australia and New Zealand in the autumn, already host an international sevens competition and could seen as suitable geographical neutral venue.

“We all want to see the best play the best so I can definitely see the attraction in having a game like this,” said Edwards.

“But we have to worry about how many games the players will play and the timing of when you have such a match.

“And how long is it before you say ‘let’s have the top two teams play each other’ and then it becomes not just a one-off annual match.

“I’d also be worried about how it would impact on the British and Irish Lions tours which are very important to the home nations and I would not want to see them suffer as a result.”

Although the ‘best of the best’ match is yet to officially be confirmed, Payne is confident there will be no obstacles preventing the IRB-sanctioned clash from going ahead.

“We believe Hong Kong would be an excellent venue for such a game,” he told the South China Morning Post.

“While nothing has been finalised yet, all parties, including the government, have welcomed the idea with great enthusiasm.”