New International Rugby Board chairman Bernard Lapasset and his deputy, Bill Beaumont, will arrive on Friday for talks with the world's leading rugby nations on a proposed test match to be played annually between the winners of the two major competitions in each hemisphere.

'We believe Hong Kong would be an excellent venue for such a game,' said Allan Payne, Hong Kong Rugby Football Union executive director. 'Part of our strategic plan is to look at hosting international matches and it would be a tremendous honour if we were asked to host this match.'

Hong Kong would have set a precedent for a neutral venue with the proposed Australia-New Zealand clash in October or November.

Australia and New Zealand rugby bosses are expected to make a formal announcement next week. It would be the first offshore meeting outside a World Cup for the two sides.

Australian Rugby Union chief executive John O'Neill and his New Zealand counterpart, Steve Tew, will be among a covey of chief executives from the leading nations - including the four Home Unions, France and South Africa - who will attend the IRB Tier One CEOs' meeting this weekend.

While much interest will centre on the IRB's global winners-take-all championship, O'Neill and Tew are also believed to be close to signing off on the final agreement to hold the 'neutral' test in Hong Kong.

Team officials from both the All Blacks and Wallabies will arrive this week to look into the facilities, including hotels, ground (Hong Kong Stadium) and training pitches.

The IRB has already given its blessing to the match.

The Hong Kong government, the Tourism Board and the Tourism Commission have also given their unqualified support for the match.

'While nothing's been finalised yet, all parties, including the government, have welcomed the idea with great enthusiasm,' revealed Payne. This support should give rugby officials a big boost as they make a play to host the touted global championship.

According to Beaumont, the IRB had brought forward this proposal as it was tired of meaningless test matches between the June and November windows where some coaches fielded second-string sides.

'We are looking at an inter-hemisphere trophy competition which rewards the best against the best,' Beaumont, a former England and Lions captain, told The Sydney Morning Herald.

Among the other proposals which the IRB will look at to enliven the international game between World Cups is a plan to give ranking points to existing matches which will end in a grand final.

Another idea which the chief executives will mull over on Sunday is a 12-team pool format run over two years between World Cups where each country will play the other nations in its pool home and away, with the pool winners meeting in a final.