Leicester could face Wallabies

This time the foot-and-mouth epidemic means that whatever the result of the Stade Francais-Munster tie in Lille, the final will take place in Paris at the Parc des Princes.

The Wallaby power-brokers will be watching from afar with a vested interest in identifying their club opponents for a tour which features Tests against Canada, Wales, France and England. 'We want quality competition and there is a wide range of choice,' said Australian Rugby Union chief executive John O'Neill.

'We have had some feedback from England and Wales that some of the stronger clubs would be very keen to play a midweek match against the Wallabies. There is an underlying desire from a lot of clubs in the UK and France for this.

'If we say we want to play strong club sides like Swansea, Cardiff, Leicester, Saracens or even Stade Francais, then there is a good chance it will happen. Therefore we are going directly to the club asking: 'Would you like to play us?'

Despite the inevitable congestion, Leicester, for one, will not need to be asked twice. 'We would be delighted to have the opportunity of playing Australia at Welford Road as would our supporters,' said chief executive Peter Wheeler. 'We would work very hard to find room for such a match.'

Unlike their Welsh counterparts, Leicester have never had a shot against any of the big three from the Southern Hemisphere, not even when their British Isles tours lasted for more than three months. Instead Leicester's finest, as with every English club, had to take their chance camouflaged in a divisional team.

Manager Dean Richards said: 'Playing the Wallabies would be a huge honour and a great recognition for the club as a whole. Divisional rugby has had its day. In later years, the concept simply wasn't working at all.'

Geordan Murphy, Leicester's gifted Irish threequarter and leading try scorer this season with 12, has resisted offers to go home and agreed a deal to stay at Welford Road for at least another two seasons. With Rob Henderson leaving Wasps for Munster, Murphy will be one of very few Ireland internationals reap-pearing in the English Premiership again next season.

He has made more of an impact there than on the Irish scene, having been dropped after the autumn friendly against Japan. 'I spoke to the Irish coaches and they were quite happy for me to stay at Leicester,' said Murphy.