England quash prospect of unofficial fourth ‘Test’

HOPES of manufacturing an unofficial fourth Test showdown between the British Lions and the All Blacks in the autumn were last night effectively quashed by England.

Earlier in the day the Barbarians had confirmed they would be exploring the possibility of pitching as many Lions tourists as possible into their side to take on New Zealand on November 4.

It had been suggested that the match at Twickenham could be elevated to the status of an unofficial fourth Test after the series ended in Auckland on Saturday tied at 1-1 with the final clash at Eden Park drawn 15-15.

“We are going to assemble an extremely strong team for this historic game at Twickenham,” a Barbarians spokesman said.

“We hope it will include players involved in the exceptional Lions series with the All Blacks. The players will get the chance to face New Zealand for a fourth time this year.

“We have reached an agreement with Premiership Rugby, who have been very supportive about player release. We will talk with the home unions about access to players.”

But England reacted quickly to rule out the possibility of releasing players for the Baa Baas match.

England’s desire to concentrate on their own three-Test autumn schedule appears to have scuppered the proposal as players from all four home unions would have to be available for the game to have any credibility as an unofficial decider.

“England players will be focusing on preparing for our matches ahead of the Old Mutual Wealth Series and will not be released for the Barbarians fixture,” a Rugby Football Union spokesman said.

There is precedent for such a game after the Barbarians’ clash with New Zealand in 1973 was given a similar billing due to the number of players involved from the Lions’ triumphant tour two years earlier. The All Blacks lost that series 2-1 with the fourth Test also ending in deadlock.

England had wanted to stage their own fixture at Twickenham against the All Blacks on November 4, only for negotiations to break down.

They are due to meet for the first time in four years in November 2018.

Lions debrief: Four-page special: Pages 44-47