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NZRU rejects Twickenham Bledisloe
By GREG FORD - Sunday Star Times | Sunday, 28 September 2008
NZRU rejects Twickenham Bledisloe - New Zealand's source for sport, rugby, cricket & league news on Stuff.co.nz
New Zealand rugby officials dismissed suggestions the All Blacks might play a Bledisloe Cup match in London in the near future.
Australian rugby boss and motormouth John O'Neill mooted the idea this week.
''The interest from all over the world in the fact that the All Blacks and Wallabies are playing in Asia is really significant, and it won't be the last time,'' O'Neill told News Ltd newspapers in reference to November's Hong Kong test.
''We may even play All Blacks and the Wallabies at Twickenham, that's not out of the question.''
A Twickenham test has the potential windfall for all three parties, with gate takings worth an estimated $12.3 million.
O'Neill's Kiwi equivalent Steve Tew shot down the idea yesterday. He told Sunday Star-Times rugby columnist Phil Gifford: ''We're not actively canvassing that right now we have mooted the possibility of taking a Super 14 game or test match into the English market before but we would only do that if we had agreement from the English Rugby Union.''
Last month, the Star-Times revealed both unions were planning to take the Bledisloe Cup to the United States for a match at Mile High Stadium in Denver, Colorado.
Tew told Gifford: ''As I think people know, we have had an idea we might play a test in the USA in Denver and there is the possibility we might play on the east coast of America.
''We are looking at all these options but nothing is well advanced and we're not working on a Twickenham test, or not of late. It's possible my Australian colleagues have been, but we certainly have not. We have a full programme this year and we're pretty close to having a full programme next year.''
Good!!
There are some things that should be considered sacrosanct