Australian Boss Bill Pulver keen on SH Lions.

Australia rugby chief Bill Pulver is keen on the idea of a southern hemisphere equivalent of the British and Irish Lions and thinks he has identified a place for it in the international calendar.

Pulver, who took over as Australian Rugby Union chief in January, admitted he had been blown away by the excitement generated by the visit of the tourists to Australia, which he described as a "phenomenal success".

"I would love the idea," he told a news conference on Wednesday.

"It's a very interesting question, because we've now got a cycle where we've got a Lions tour one year, a World Cup in one year and we've now got a rugby sevens at Olympic Games in one year.

"In some ways there's an extra year which opens itself up to a couple of interesting concepts.

"We're about to embark in the ARU on a strategic planning process and it really does invite a lot of creative thought to think of a Lions equivalent from the southern hemisphere.

"We're not very far down the track in terms of discussion around that. Some of the countries in the southern hemisphere are concerned about the amount of rugby their senior players are playing.

"It would have to be addressed in that context but it certainly invites a lot of exciting thought, doesn't it?"

Even if South Africa and Argentina were not interested, Pulver said he would like to investigate a way to mark the centenary of the Australia and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) landings at Gallipoli in World War One, still remembered on April 25 every year in both countries.

"I'd even be happy to take the best of Australia and New Zealand," he said.

"A concept I'd love to develop is around the centenary of ANZAC day in 2015. Imagine playing a combinedAustralia-New Zealand team against and Allies team, or a Lions team, though it probably couldn't be a Lions team.

"There's some terrific ideas there, there's an opportunity to take this game to another level and I think they have to be looked at seriously."

Biltong wrote:

Unless of course there is an agreement that each country must have 5 run on starts in every match, this way you can circumvent any ill feelings.

Biltong wrote:Well yes, SA, OZ and NZ.

Biltong wrote:

After some though about this I hope nothing comes of it. For me this is a sure fire way to split the SH into a million fragments, we have seen how polarised the opinions are on the British and Irish Lions when it comes to squad selections etc.

Imagine how the usually calm waters in the SH will be troubled by this.

Unless of course there is an agreement that each country must have 5 run on starts in every match, this way you can circumvent any ill feelings.

It might not be a bad idea if the Lions follow that concept as well. I know it is about winning, but isn't partaking in the series as much of an important aspect as the winning?