The man who brought Manny Pacquiao to Brisbane is behind All-Blacks-Kangaroos blockbuster

Jeff Horn’s promoter Dean Lonergan has emerged as the brains behind the latest attempt to bring to life a hybrid game between rugby league’s all-powerful Kangaroos and the mighty All Blacks

The Kangaroos would take on the All Blacks on December 5 if the plan is approved

Promoter Dean Lonergan has emerged as the brains behind an ambitious plan to pit the Kangaroos and All Blacks against each other in a blockbuster clash only weeks before Christmas.

Lonergan, the architect of the Auckland Nines and promoter of former world boxing champion Jeff Horn, has broached the idea with both the ARL Commission and New Zealand Rugby.

Lonergan has also discussed the concept at length with Kangaroos coach Mal Meninga. Lonergan declined to comment when contacted by The Australian on Friday but it is believed ARL Commission chair Peter V’landys and NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo are aware of the plan.

New Zealand Rugby is also understood to have discussed the concept at a board meeting on Wednesday — Lonergan has known New Zealand Rugby chair Brent Impey for more than 30 years and is an acquaintance of Michael Jones, another board member.

Former Melbourne chair Bart Campbell, who is still the majority owner of the Storm, also recently joined the New Zealand Rugby board.

It is understood Lonergan’s plan would be for the sides to play with 14 men each under hybrid rules that would potentially resulted in the axing of line-outs, taking power out of scrums and setting a limit of eight tackles/mauls for each side.
“The whole thing is designed to be fast and furious and physical,” sources told The Australian.

A handful of promoters have attempted to bring an All Blacks-Kangaroos game to fruition in recent years but no one has been able to make it a reality.

Lonergan faces huge challenges himself to make the concept come to life, the most significant to convince the ARL Commission and New Zealand Rugby that it is worth doing.

His cause has been helped on one hand by the impact of COVID_19, with both bodies feeling the hip-pocket strain and likely to find the prospect of a financial windfall appealing.

However, the timing is an issue given a date of December 5 has been earmarked for the game. The NRL season has already been extended into late November due to COVID-19 and there would be backlash from the clubs over using their elite players so late in the year.

Under the collective bargaining agreement, players are required to be given eight weeks off at the end of every season.

Playing a game in early-December would mean that the best players in the game would be ineligible to return to training until early-February.

That would leave them only a matter of weeks to be prepared for the 2021 season. The hurdles appear insurmountable, but Lonergan is not to be underestimated. He showed that when he was able to convince legendary boxer Manny Pacquiao to come to Australia to fight Horn two years.