Talks are under way to stage a historic cross-code rugby international match between New Zealand's All Blacks and Australia's Kangaroos.
Kangaroos coach Mal Meninga said there had been "serious negotiations" to set up the clash for December as both rugby union and rugby league look for ways to recoup losses from the Covid-19 enforced shutdown.
"We are still in talks but obviously news of this has got out," Meninga said.
New Zealand Rugby boss Mark Robinson confirmed his team were in talks, although he said his priority was salvaging as many rugby union Tests as possible in 2020.
"We've had an approach. We'll work that through and go through the proper process... if we feel it has merit to take further," Robinson said.
Meninga said he relished the chance to pit his 13-a-side stars against the might of New Zealand's 15-a-side game.
"I'm keen to make this happen. We want to play the All Blacks, hopefully we can get the concept off the ground," he said.
"The best from our game versus the best from the New Zealand game... let's do it."
The Test would be a 14-a-side match on December 5 in Australia and could potentially become a regular blockbuster biannual fixture.
"We've had the option put to us of this hybrid game with the Kangaroos," said Robinson.
"And it's one of many different scenarios in a unique year like this that we are considering with being innovative and having a focus on trying to consider revenue-generating ideas at this time given the financial climate that we're in."
Both NZR and Australian rugby league have lost millions of dollars due to the coronavirus pandemic, with borders closed and Test matches cancelled.
The Kangaroos were due to play three Tests in England in October and November, with Australian players now having the three-match State of Origin series between New South Wales and Queensland in November.
Currently, the All Blacks are only scheduled to take on the Wallabies in what is expected to be a four-match Bledisloe Cup series after the Rugby Championship was postponed.
If the cross-code clash goes ahead, it would likely attract significant interest. The All Blacks are a global brand while the Kangaroos are the current rugby league world champions.
Kangaroos vice-captain Daly Cherry-Evans said he was all for it.
"I have got absolutely no idea how it would work but it sounds fun so I would be up for it," he said.
Melbourne Storm coach Craig Bellamy said he had heard that "they'd have rugby union rules for one half and rugby league for another half".
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Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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Bharat
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Ziina users can donate to relief efforts in Beirut
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You may remember …
Robbie Keane (Atletico de Kolkata) The Irish striker is, along with his former Spurs teammate Dimitar Berbatov, the headline figure in this season’s ISL, having joined defending champions ATK. His grand entrance after arrival from Major League Soccer in the US will be delayed by three games, though, due to a knee injury.
Dimitar Berbatov (Kerala Blasters) Word has it that Rene Meulensteen, the Kerala manager, plans to deploy his Bulgarian star in central midfield. The idea of Berbatov as an all-action, box-to-box midfielder, might jar with Spurs and Manchester United supporters, who more likely recall an always-languid, often-lazy striker.
Wes Brown (Kerala Blasters) Revived his playing career last season to help out at Blackburn Rovers, where he was also a coach. Since then, the 23-cap England centre back, who is now 38, has been reunited with the former Manchester United assistant coach Meulensteen, after signing for Kerala.
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Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
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1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
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Los Angeles Galaxy 2 Manchester United 5
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Date of launch: 2014
Founder: Jon Richards, founder and chief executive; Samer Chebab, co-founder and chief operating officer, and Jonathan Rawlings, co-founder and chief financial officer
Based: Media City, Dubai
Sector: Financial services
Size: 120 employees
Investors: 2014: $500,000 in a seed round led by Mulverhill Associates; 2015: $3m in Series A funding led by STC Ventures (managed by Iris Capital), Wamda and Dubai Silicon Oasis Authority; 2019: $8m in Series B funding with the same investors as Series A along with Precinct Partners, Saned and Argo Ventures (the VC arm of multinational insurer Argo Group)
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Company Profile
Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
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Sector: FinTech
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Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
