The mouth-watering prospect of a clash between world rugby's two powerhouses in 2017 may well become a reality.
The governing body for the game in England, the Rugby Football Union (RFU), are attempting to set up a showdown with the world champion All Blacks at Twickenham on November 4th, according to reports by the UK's Daily Mail.
New Zealand have provisionally agreed to play the Barbarians on that date as part of the 125th anniversary celebrations for Twickenham, but confirmation of that match has since been delayed while RFU Chief Executive Ian Ritchie looks to arrange what would be a mammoth contest between international rugby's two top-ranked sides.
England have undergone a startling resurgence under new coach Eddie Jones, and this weekend have a chance to break the All Blacks' world record win streak for tier one nations when they take on Ireland in Dublin.
However, they aren't due to play New Zealand again until late 2018, at which point the iron may well have cooled off.
It would add another challenging step to an already demanding 2017 schedule for the All Blacks which includes a three-Test Lions series followed closely by the Rugby Championship, and the proposed date would allow just a two-week turnaround from the final Bledisloe Test in Brisbane.
Negotiations with New Zealand Rugby have reflected their hesitancy for those very reasons, with CEO Steve Tew reluctant to shoulder the team with any further burden.
"Not as our season is currently programmed, no. It’s highly unlikely at this stage," offered Tew when questioned about the possibility of the revised Test.
"We've got a very important series against the British and Irish Lions and that's a primary focus for us. We’ve already got Scotland, France and Wales on the end-of-year tour."
Although the potential financial reward could help sway the NZR, with the union making clear its demand for a 50/50 split of the Twickenham gate sales should the fixture be agreed upon - a figure estimated at approximately £3million (NZ$5.2million).
It's a steep undertaking even for the world's richest rugby nation, but the chance to prove its supposed global supremacy should prove impossible to ignore.
The All Blacks have beaten England in their past five encounters, a run dating back to 2012.
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